By Pascal Ibe
“The charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance.
“Following these charges, Mr. Gambaryan qualifies as a ‘U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government.
“After two rounds of meetings, which were described as starting professional and then becoming increasingly hostile, the government of Nigeria took Mr. Gambaryan hostage.
“Mr. Gambaryan’s health and well-being are in danger, and we fear for his life. Immediate action is essential to ensure his safety and preserve his life.”
This was the lamentation of some United States lawmakers who wrote to President Biden and accused Nigerian government of taking Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan hostage.
In early June, the US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to help secure his release.
Few days after this letter by US lawmakers trended on the news organizations worldwide, the Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) dropped tax evasion charges against the Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan.
This report prompted the Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization on X to claim that the Nigerian government quickly dropped charges against Binance executive to prevent FBI from releasing Tinubu’s records.
The claim states, “BREAKING: Tinubu’s government drops tax charges against Binance executive Gambaryan to prevent the FIB from releasing the remaining Tinubu’s criminal records in their possession after U.S. lawmakers pressured Biden.“
With over 44, 000 followers on X, Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization is one of the campaign groups of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Most post by the Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization on X is usually to criticize the current President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Trial Since February
On 28 February, 2024, Nigerian authorities arrested the former US tax agent, who serves as head of financial crime compliance at Binance, the largest global cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume, and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, upon their arrival in the country.
Afterwards, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused Binance of laundering more than $35m (£27.5m) through its platform. In a separate suit, Nigeria’s tax authority alleged that the company had not registered for remittance purposes in Nigeria and was therefore guilty of tax evasion. The government is also seeking data on prominent Binance users in the country.
Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national, has been on the run since March after escaping from custody in Abuja. Some reports claim he was found in Kenya and is on the verge of being extradited to Nigeria.
Binance officials have claimed Nigerian authorities requested a bribe of $150m in crypto funds from the pair during an earlier visit in January. Nigerian politicians said the allegation was “an attempt to distract and draw attention away from the serious allegations of criminality against it” and demanded an apology. They also said the company had used “sophisticated criminality” to help its employee escape.
The exchange has hundreds of thousands of users in Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies. It is popular among young people in urban Nigerian areas who use the platform to bypass conventional market platforms, as the naira’s value frequently fluctuates against the dollar. Nigerian officials have argued that trading on Binance has contributed to the naira’s instability.
Gambaryan’s travails are the latest in a series of legal woes Binance has faced in the past year; in April, the company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was handed a four-month sentence in the US for money laundering just months after the company was hit with a $4.3bn fine.
Verifying This Claim
First, on June 14, 2024, the Federal Inland Revenue Service says it is dropping the tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance.
Confirming the development, Dare Adekanmbi, the agency’s spokesperson, said the federal government “is dropping charges against the two individuals sued along with the cryptocurrency firm, Binance”.
“Please note that the charges are being dropped against the second and the third defendants in the matter,” he added.
A federal high court in Abuja discharged the two executives on June 14, after the FIRS confirmed the appointment of Ayodele Omotilewa as the firm’s representative — with FIRS filing a fresh charge listing the exchange as the sole defendant.
Speaking in a statement, Binance said the development illustrates that Gambaryan is not a decision-maker at the cryptocurrency firm.
“We are relieved that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has served and filed amended charges today, resulting in tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan being dropped,” the statement reads.
“Further illustrating that Tigran is not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be held in order for Binance to resolve issues with the Nigerian government.
“We await the court’s ruling on this, discharging Tigran from this matter completely.”
Binance also commended the FIRS for their diligence and professionalism throughout this process.
EFCC Has Not Dropped Charges
In a statement on its website on May 23, Nigeria’s anti corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC) noted that the trial of Binance Holdings Limited and its Executive, Tigran Gambaryan before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, could not continue on Thursday, May 23, 2024, due to the ill-health of Gambaryan, the second defendant.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC is prosecuting Gambaryan alongside Binance Holdings Ltd on a five-count charge bordering on alleged tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering to the tune of $34,400,000 (Thirty-Four Million, Four Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
At the resumed sitting on Thursday, defence counsel, Mark Mordi SAN, informed the court of the ill-health of his client and his inability to stand trial.
“In the circumstance of the ill health of the second defendant, it is clear that he cannot stand for trial today, we beseech for the matter to be adjourned till 14 and 17 of July, 2024 to permit him to recover.
Furthermore, we beseech for the defendant to be transferred to Mizamiye hospital Abuja for treatment, and for the court to mandate the Nigerian Correctional Service to issue us a medical report on the examination they conducted on him in their facility”, he said
Responding, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho said that the matter of the day was for continuation of trial and two of his witnesses were already in court.
Gambaryan’s Wife Asks EFCC To Drop Charges Against Husband
In a statement released on Tuesday, Yuki Gambaryan urged the EFCC to emulate the FIRS’s decision. “He is suffering immensely under the strain of this injustice. I respectfully urge the EFCC to follow the example set by their colleagues at the FIRS (tax authority) and drop the charges against Tigran,” she said.
Yuki highlighted the severe impact of Tigran’s continued detention on his health and family. “As I have stated many times before and as the evidence in court is showing, Tigran has never been a decision-maker at Binance, and there is no justification for his continued detention. It is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and release my innocent husband. This situation has gone too far.”
FBI Not Planning To Release Tinubu’s Private Records
On October 24, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia declined an emergency application seeking to compel top US law enforcement agencies to hasten the release of confidential information on President Bola Tinubu.
The judge, Beryl Howell, refused the application.
An American, Aaron Greenspan, had filed a suit in June under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) against the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI), Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In his complaint, Mr Greenspan accused the law enforcement agencies of violating the FIOA by failing to release within the statutory time “documents relating to purported federal investigations into” President Tinubu and one Mueez Adegboyega Akande, who is now deceased.
According to Mr Greenspan, the records being requested were from the Northern District of Illinois and/or Northern District of Indiana “involving charging decisions” against Messrs Tinubu and Akande.
Verdict
Claim by Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization on X that Nigerian government has dropped charges of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan to prevent FBI from releasing Tinubu’s record is FALSE.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service , FIRS on June 14 dropped tax evasion charges but his prosecution by EFCC and trial at the federal high court is still ongoing till now.
