By John Ikani
Nigeria has cleared two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, of tax evasion charges.
The move follows the appointment of a local representative by Binance to handle related legal proceedings.
Both Gambaryan (US citizen, head of financial crimes compliance) and Anjarwalla (British-Kenyan, Africa regional manager) denied the allegations from the start.
A court determined that Gambaryan wasn’t a key decision-maker at Binance and his presence wasn’t essential to resolve the case with the Nigerian government.
While freed from the tax case, Gambaryan awaits a court ruling for full discharge. He’s been in custody since February, while Anjarwalla left Nigeria in March.
While the tax charges are dropped, both executives and Binance itself still face money laundering accusations brought by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They maintain their innocence in this case as well.
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had initially brought the tax charges against all three parties. However, FIRS revised them to target only Binance through its local representative.
This means Gambaryan, who has fallen ill with malaria and pneumonia during his detainment, is no longer required to appear in court for the tax case.
“This proves Tigran and Nadeem aren’t decision-makers at Binance and shouldn’t have been detained or charged,” declared a family spokesperson.
Gambaryan’s health concerns are significant, and delays in receiving court-ordered medical attention have worsened his condition.
His wife, Yuki Gambaryan, has pleaded for stronger intervention from the U.S. government to secure his release. “Tigran is an innocent American citizen whose life is at risk. This situation has dragged on for too long,” she stated.
The money laundering case continues with the next hearing set for June 19th, followed by the trial resumption on June 20th.
