A recent session of the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the trial involving Binance Holdings Limited and two executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, in a money laundering suit until May 17. During the proceedings, the defense counsel, Tony Krukrubo, informed the court that he had not received additional proof of evidence. The court bailiff reported encountering resistance from Gambaryan while attempting to serve documents in Kuje prison on April 30. Gambaryan instructed the bailiff to serve the documents to Binance Holdings Limited’s lawyer, as the company now had legal representation.
Justice Emeka Nwite, the trial judge, ordered that Binance’s counsel be served the documents in court. Subsequently, the matter was adjourned after the service, with the judge setting the next trial date for May 17.
On April 23, the Federal High Court in Abuja postponed ruling on Gambaryan’s bail request after considering arguments from both the prosecution counsel and Gambaryan’s representative, Mark Mordi (SAN). Mordi sought to persuade the court to grant bail, emphasizing Gambaryan’s extended detention in a foreign land without family visits. He contested the prosecution’s claim of flight risk, citing Gambaryan’s lack of access to his passport and his confinement preventing him from fleeing. Mordi also challenged the evidence against his client, daring the complainant to present any incriminating documents.
Contrarily, the prosecution counsel, Emeka Iheanacho, urged the court to deny Gambaryan’s bail request and transfer him from Kuje prison to EFCC custody to prevent potential escape. Iheanacho argued that Gambaryan, like his associate Anjarwalla, posed a flight risk. He informed the court of Gambaryan’s attempt to obtain a new passport from the United States Embassy under false pretenses.
Additionally, Iheanacho revealed Gambaryan’s dual citizenship of American and Armenian origin. Gambaryan, along with his company, Binance Holdings Limited, and Anjarwalla, another executive, were detained by the Federal Government over allegations of money laundering amounting to $35 million. All three defendants were accused of conspiring to conceal the origin of unlawfully acquired financial proceeds in Nigeria.
