Trial Judge Emeka has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the hospital’s medical director, demanding his/her presence at the next hearing. He also ordered Tigran Gambaryan to be admitted to the hospital for 24 hours “for emphasis” and proper treatment.
The judge made the judgement yesterday after detained Binance executive, Gambaryan appeared in court in a wheelchair on Tuesday. According to a statement by his family, Tigran Gambaryan had to be wheeled into court by his lawyers in a wheelchair as his health continued to deteriorate in Nigerian detention.
For several weeks Tigran has been complaining to the prison authorities about pain associated with a herniated disc in his back but they have not provided adequate care for his condition. He is in severe pain and is hardly able to walk. He has been detained for 142 days now.
The judge expressed frustration after a court-ordered medical report for Gambaryan was not submitted as evidence. He had previously ordered the documents released from the hospital where Gambaryan was treated, but the facility’s director has not complied.
Subsequently, the court adjourned the money laundering trial against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives to October 11, after the court’s annual holiday that starts next week.
This follows a report by Technext 5 days ago that the court will begin the tax evasion trial against Binance on October 11. Judge Emeka Nwite made the declaration after hearing a non-guilty plea from the representative of the crypto company, Ayodele Omotilewa.
At the resumed proceedings today, counsel for Binance, Tonye Krukrubo (SAN) told presiding Justice Emeka Nwite that Binance has forwarded the name of its official representative in the case to the FIRS and the court. Counsel for the FIRS, Moses Idehu, confirmed the notice and asked the court’s permission to substitute all the previous charges with the amended ones.
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Binance and executives Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crimes compliance, and British-Kenyan national Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa, have been charged with laundering more than $35 million and engaging in specialised financial activities without a licence.
Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja dropped charges against two executives of the crypto exchange, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla from the FIRS tax evasion case against the company.
The court made the ruling following an amended charges application filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in response to a notice from Binance that it has appointed a Nigerian representative in the case, Ayodele Omotilewa.
Nigeria has blamed Binance for its currency woes after cryptocurrency websites became the platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian naira as the country struggled with chronic dollar shortages and its currency fell to a record low.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan, a regional manager for Africa was detained alongside Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance. were charged to court by Nigeria’s tax agency, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on the charges of tax evasion.
The two Binance executives were said to have been detained at a “comfortable guest house” and allowed many privileges despite being under arrest. These privileges include the use of telephones, and Mr Anjarwalla is believed to have exploited that privilege to plan his escape.
Following their arrest in February, the Nigerian authorities filed criminal charges against the two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan, before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. The court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an order to remand them for 14 days. The court also ordered Binance to provide the Nigerian government with information on Nigerians trading on its platform.
