Five months after, FG drops money laundering charges against Binance executive, Gambaryan
Maureen Aguta
After about five months in detention, the Federal Government has withdrawn all criminal charges initiated against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance Holdings who has been facing a money laundering trial from detention since April.
This was pronounced on Wednesday morning by a lawyer representing the country’s anti-graft country, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
It was disclosed recently that the trial of Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan was adjourned to October 25 following his absence in court on Friday.
The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) had told Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja during the resumed trial on Friday that Gambaryan was critically sick and could not be produced in court for his trial.
The judge then asked Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, SAN, about the whereabouts of his client.
Mordi said he did not know why his client was not in court. Also, the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, said he was surprised Gambaryan was not in court.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the EFCC lawyer explained Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was merely an employee of Binance whose jurisdiction does not extend to give final judgment in the company.
His legal team being led by Mark Mordi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing Gambaryan expressed his alignment with the EFCC’s position.
He said Gambaryan was a mere employee and did not get involved in the company’s broader financial decisions.