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Binance Executive Accused of Money Laundering Pleads Innocent
On Monday, the Federal Government filed five counts of allegations related to money laundering against Binance and one of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan.
In his capacity as the company’s representative, Gambaryan entered a plea in which he denied having committed the accused offenses.
Previously, in a succinct decision, Justice Emeka Nwite had rejected Gambaryan’s requests to enter a plea on the company’s behalf, citing his lack of authority as its representative.
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Nwite dismissed the challenge, ruling that Gambaryan had represented the corporation in an affidavit, transacting business in Nigeria on its behalf.
The anti-graft agency stated that the offenses, which took place in Abuja between January 2023 and December 2023, violated Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and were punished by law.
Count one charged the defendants with operating other financial institutions’ specialized businesses in Abuja between January 2023 and January 2024 without a valid license.
According to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, Sections 57(1) and (2) are violated, and Section 57(5) of the same Act punishes the violation.
Read also: Binance Officials Face Charges Linked to Money Laundering
The foreign national’s request to be placed under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) detention on remand was denied by Nwite.
The offender was then placed under remand and brought to Kuje Prison per the judge’s decision.
Judge Nwite scheduled the trial of the charges for May 2 and the hearing of the defendant’s bail application for April 18.
Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State is going to teach his rivals a political lesson, according to Edison Ehie, the governor’s chief of staff.
Ehie related the state’s crisis to the conflict over resource allocation.
He gave a speech yesterday at a memorial service honoring the governor’s Supreme Court triumph in the state’s Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Read also: Ex-Nigerian Ambassador to Canada Defects From PDP to APC
As said by Ehie: “We are going to teach them a lesson of political arithmetic.
“What that small boy (Fubara) will do to you, you’ll know that khaki nor be leather.
“The problem we have in the state is that 11 persons said they would control the resources of Rivers State. These 11 persons now called 20 others to allocate resources to themselves.”
Regarding the political resources in the state, Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, or FCT, have been at odds.
President Bola Tinubu intervened, but the cold war between Fubara and Wike continued to rage.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has promised that his government is going to take swift action against individuals who instigate tension within the state.
During a meeting with the newly elected executives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna on Saturday, the governor made the announcement.
In addition to praising CAN and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) for their joint efforts to sustain peace and unity among themselves, he called on religious leaders to actively promote harmony and peace among their people.
Read also: I Made Mistake With Fubara – Wike Says as He Seeks Forgiveness from God and Rivers Family
He pointed out his commitment to keeping the promises that he made during his election campaigns, highlighting the significance of Kaduna as the northern Nigerian hub.
He said, “I am committed to supporting clerics by providing vehicles to reach all parts of the state effectively to spread messages of peace and unity.”
The governor was earlier praised by Rev. Celeb Maaji, the newly appointed Kaduna CAN chairman, for his accomplishments in less than a year. Maaji claimed that the governor’s historic participation at a Christmas carol concert last year was the epitome of effective leadership.
The governor’s administration has the backing of the Christian community, the CAN state chairman said, and he should bring back Christian events like the pilgrims board and Bible quiz competition in the state.
The country’s bank compliance officers have received a call from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asking them to stop disclosing to their clients about the EFCC’s investigative operations.
This statement was made by the commission’s executive chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in a meeting with bank compliance officers in the capital of Oyo State, Ibadan.
Olukoyede stated that the commission is aware that certain compliance officers are providing information to customers. He made this statement through ACE I Hauwa Garba Ringim, Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Command.
He bemoaned the unhealthy backing that Nigerian banks give scammers.
The head of the commission emphasized that the commission is facing many difficulties and worries as a result of this act.
Read also: National Inferno Looms as Rivers Crisis Escalates – Bode George
He claims that the EFCC is aware that compliance officers inform their clients about “letters of investigation activities” that the EFCC has sent to banks.
He maintained that these kinds of actions typically compromise financial crime investigations and postpone the filing of court proceedings pertaining to corruption.
He bemoaned the unhealthy backing that Nigerian banks give to fraudsters, emphasizing that the Commission is facing significant difficulties and worries as a result.
In order to speed the investigation process and bring the case to a logical conclusion, the head of the EFCC further advised the agency to always reply to letters received from the Commission with certified true copies, including instruments of transactions of beneficiaries or sources.
Speaking further, Olukoyede insisted that illicit transactions and naira-denominated trading with Point-of-sale (POS) operators had to end.
“What we notice and see around lately is that Nigerians can only withdraw a small amount of their money with the banks in Automated Teller Machine (ATMs) but POS operators evidently go around with huge amounts of money gotten from the banks.
“This is not fair to Nigerians and we must fight it head-on.”
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