A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday morning adjourned the case against Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its two executives to May 17.
The case borders on Money laundering and Tax evasion. Other concerns by the government include allegations of manipulation of the local currency by peer-to-peer traders on the platform.
According to Reuters, Binance and its executives named Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan Citizen who is the regional manager for Africa are facing money laundering charges to the tune of $35 million and dealing in specialized financial activities without a license.
All Parties to the case have pleaded Not guilty.
During the proceedings on Thursday, the legal counsel to the Binance executives argued that he had not been served with additional proof of evidence that he would have used to defend his client properly.
The legal counsel was served in court and the case was adjourned to allow the counsel to scrutinize the nearly 300-page document in preparation for the defense of his Binance clients.
Binance and its team of executives are also facing a four-count charge of Tax evasion in a separate trial that will resume on May 17.
What To Know
- The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria argued that crypto exchanges in Nigeria were handling illicit flow of cash pointing to a suspicious flow of funds in Binance.
- This led to a spat between Binance and the Nigerian authorities who detained two of Binance’s executives upon arrival into the country.
- Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of the detained Binance executives escaped to Kenya according to Interpol and was tried in absentia. Documents for his Extradition to Nigeria have been prepared by the Interpol.