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Binance Officials Face Charges Linked to Money Laundering
The court hearing of two executives from Binance, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, is set for Thursday by the Abuja Federal High Court, barring any changes.
Justice Emeka Nwite will be hearing two different counts against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, has filed one that involves five accusations related to money laundering.
The other, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), consists of four counts alleging various tax offenses.
Judge Nwite will have a missing trial for Anjarwalla, who fled from detention on March 22.
In its March 28 accusation, the EFCC accused officials of Binance of laundering over $35,400,000.
One of the counts against the defendants states that they allegedly conducted the specialized business of other financial institutions in Abuja between January 2023 and January 2024 without a legitimate license.
According to the EFCC, the act is illegal under Sections 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and is subject to punishment under Section 57(5) of the same Act.
The defendants were accused of committing the offense on or around February 1 of this year in the charge filed by the FIRS on March 22. It was marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.
In count one, the defendants are charged with not registering with the FIRS in order to pay all applicable taxes while operating their business and providing subscribers with services on their platform (Binance).
Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended), Sections 8 and 29 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act of 1993 (as modified), and Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended) were criminal offenses for the act, according to the FIRS.
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Judge Nwite issued a court order on March 18 requiring Binance to give the EFCC complete information about every Nigerian trader on its platform.
In a decision on an ex-parte request submitted by Ekele Iheanacho, a lawyer for the EFCC, the judge approved the temporary order.
According to the judge, the temporary order was put in place to give the EFCC time to look into its allegations that Binance’s platform was being used for money laundering and supporting terrorist activities.
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.
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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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