Tigran Gambaryan, one of the detained Binance executive has been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre by a Federal High Court in Abuja, pending the determination of his bail application.

The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, issued the directive after Gambaryan pleaded innocence regarding the money laundering accusations levied against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday.

The judge then postponed the proceedings until April 18 to deliberate on his bail request and scheduled the trial to begin on May 2.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arraigned Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency firm, and Tigran Gambaryan, the company’s head of financial crime compliance, over allegations of money laundering.

NigeriaUpdates reports that the anti-graft agency arraigned the company and its executive on a five-count charge before Emeka Nwite, a federal high court judge in Abuja.

Cryptocurrency giants, Binance has clarified that Tigran Gambaryan, a detained employee in Nigeria, is not a member of the company’s management.

The cryptocurrency exchange giant clarified in a statement released on Wednesday that Gambaryan, an American, serves exclusively as a law enforcement officer and does not hold decision-making authority.

Recall that Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla from Binance Holdings Limited, were arrested in Nigeria in February on suspicion of money laundering activities.

Charges were filed last Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the firm and its two employees, including money laundering totaling $35,400,000, among other allegations.

As Gambaryan remains detained, Anjarwalla managed to evade custody and fled the country.

However, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has commenced talks with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) over the extradition of Binance chief Anjarwalla, who escaped from detention in Nigeria and fled the country on March 22.

Binance’s statement reads, “Tigran is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management. While he has left the official service of the U.S. government, he has remained fully committed to the role of law enforcement officer ever since, operating as a global advocate for good governance and transparent regulatory financial practices.

“Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.

“In 2022 and 2023, Tigran’s Financial Crime Compliance team assisted global law enforcement in freezing and seizing more than $2.2b worth of assets, including more than $285m in cooperation with United States agencies like the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others.

“This included a three-hour online workshop for 70 Nigerian EFCC officials in mid-2023 and, late last year, two full-day sessions for EFCC officials in Abuja and Lagos, with more than 30 investigators attending each of them.”

The Federal Government is set to arraign two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, before the Abuja Federal High Court.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who fled the country two weeks ago, will be charged two separate charges before Justice Emeka Nwite on Thursday.

The first charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which focuses on money laundering, has five counts, while the other by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has four counts of sundry tax infractions.

The EFCC, in its charge filed on March 28, accused Binance executives of laundering about $35,400,000.

In count one of the charges, the defendants are alleged to have, between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, carried out the specialised business of other financial institutions without a valid licence.

The EFCC said the Act constitutes an offence contrary to Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and was punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.

The FIRS charged the defendants on March 22, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, and alleged that they committed the offence on or about February 1 this year.

In count one, the defendants are accused of failing to register with the FIRS to pay all relevant taxes while carrying out and offering services to subscribers on their platform (Binance).

The FIRS said the Act constitutes an offence punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).

On March 18, Justice Nwite ordered Binance to provide the EFCC with comprehensive data or information on all those trading on its platform from Nigeria.

The judge granted the interim order in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.

The judge said the interim order was to enable the EFCC to investigate its claim that money laundering and terrorism financing activities were being allowed on Binance’s platform.