- Tax evasion charges against Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla have been dropped
- Court hearing resumes on June 19
- Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla still named in money laundering case
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a revenue collection agency of the Nigerian government, on Friday dropped tax evasion charges it brought against two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. This is according to an emailed statement by a spokesperson for the two detainees, as per CoinDesk.
According to the statement, the FIRS agreed to change the charges so that only the cryptocurrency exchange—through its local representative—is mentioned. Gambaryan is free not to attend the court session, primarily because of his ill health.
Despite the respite, the two executives are not off the hook yet: they are still named in money laundering charges.
"This goes to show that both Tigran and Nadeem are not decision makers at Binance, and should never have been detained and charged," the statement said. Gambaryan heads the financial crime compliance unit at Binance and Anjarwalla was a director for the exchange’s Africa operations.
According to the statement, the application for an order for the enforcement of fundamental rights will be heard at the next hearing in the money laundering case on June 19. The trial is scheduled to resume on June 20, 2024. Gambaryan is detained at Kuje prison, in Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja.
Recall that Binance had taken steps to convince the Nigerian government that Gambaryan does not have powers to make decisions in Binance and that it's not right for him to be forced to represent the firm court; therefore, he should be released.
In February, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were arrested while the nation looked into the exchange. Soon after, Anjarwalla escaped from detention and out of the country. Soon after, Nigeria filed lawsuits against the executives and Binance on allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.
Backlash for Nigerian government after detaining Binance executives
The Nigerian government received backlash after the two executives were detained and eventually charged. Some crypto-enthusiastic Nigerians took to the X to condemn the government’s actions, while authorities claimed they were acting to protect the country’s failing economy.
Binance CEO Richard Teng wrote a terse blog post in which he accused the Nigerian government of abducting the executives and setting a bad precedent. He also accused the Nigerian authorities of corruption, stating that "someone in the Nigerian government" had asked the Binance team for a bribe amounting to about $150 million in crypto.
"As you may be aware, one of our beloved colleagues, Tigran Gambaryan, continues to be held by the government in Nigeria for more than 70 days. "I also feel that it's time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community. To invite a company's mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide,” Teng wrote.
