The legal case of the Binance exec in Nigeria has been extended until April 19
Tigran Gambarian, the US-based executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, who has been charged with tax evasion in Nigeria, has reportedly been adjourned until April 19.
According to a Bloomberg report on April 4, Gambarian remains in a Nigerian prison while authorities file charges against the cryptocurrency exchange and two executives, but the case has been adjourned for two weeks. Gambarian came to Nigeria with Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwala in February following allegations of defrauding the country's fiat currency, the nara.
Binance announced on March 5 that it intends to stop all Naira trading, effectively exiting the market for Nigerian users. Gambarian and Anjarwala – in Nigeria at the time of the announcement – were arrested by authorities. Reports suggest that they will be charged with tax evasion and money laundering.
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Nigerian authorities filed charges against the exchange – until April 8 – and the Gambian, but Anjarwala reportedly managed to escape from custody on March 22 and leave the capital, Abuja. Gambarian's owner launched a petition to bring him back to the US, which had 1,719 signatures at the time of publication.
“It's ridiculous that he's being accused of the crimes he spent his life fighting,” Yuki Gambarian wrote in her petition. “My husband is an innocent man, a caretaker of other people's games.
In a blog post on April 3, Binance stated that Gambia “does not have any decision-making authority in the company” and is not responsible for the exchange's activities in Nigeria. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao remains in the United States after pleading guilty to a $4.3-billion settlement with authorities. He is expected to be sentenced on April 30.
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