In a courtroom drama fit for the silver screen, the highly anticipated arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and its executives for alleged tax evasion hit a major snag on Thursday. The reason? One of the executives managed to evade service of the charge sheet, throwing the proceedings into disarray.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), spearheading the prosecution, revealed the shocking twist to the court. Moses Ideh, counsel for the FIRS, informed the court that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had thwarted attempts to serve the charge sheet on the elusive Binance executive.
Adding to the intrigue, one of the charged executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, remains at large after escaping from the custody of the National Security Adviser. With Anjarwalla conspicuously absent from the courtroom, tensions soared as legal maneuvers unfolded.
Amidst the legal wrangling, the FIRS lawyer, Moses Ideh, made a bold oral application to serve the charge sheet on Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance executive, directly in the courtroom. Surprisingly, Gambaryan’s legal representative, Chukwuka Ikwuazo (SAN), raised no objections, paving the way for an unprecedented legal maneuver.
With the charge sheet finally served, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja opted for an adjournment to afford Gambaryan ample time to study the charges and mount a robust defense. The courtroom buzzed with anticipation as the judge delivered his ruling, setting the stage for a showdown on April 19.
The charges against Binance Holdings Limited, outlined in the marked charge FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, paint a damning picture of alleged tax evasion and regulatory non-compliance. The FIRS accuses the multinational firm of failing to register with the agency, thus evading taxes, and neglecting to issue invoices for taxable services on its trading platform.
But the legal saga doesn’t end there. The EFCC, in a separate legal skirmish, has leveled money laundering charges against Binance Holdings Limited and Tigran Gambaryan. The courtroom drama continues as Mark Mordi (SAN), counsel for the second defendant, raises objections, citing failures in service by the prosecution.
As the courtroom drama unfolds, the eyes of the financial world remain fixated on the outcome of these high-stakes legal battles. With billions at stake and reputations hanging in the balance, the Binance tax evasion trial promises to be a legal spectacle like no other. Stay tuned for more twists, turns, and courtroom drama in the days to come.