The Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American, and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) tax evasion case against the cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance.
The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, made the decision in a ruling following information from Binance about its appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa.
At the resumed proceedings on Friday, counsel for Binance, Tonye Krukrubo told the judge that his client has forwarded the name of its official representative to the FIRS and to the court.
Counsel for the FIRS, Moses Idehu, confirmed the same and asked the court’s permission to substitute all the previous charges with the fresh amended one dated June 13, 2024
In FIRS’ fresh charge Binance is now listed as the only defendant implying Gambaryan and Nadeem are no longer associated with its case, with July 12 fixed for the new Binance executive to take his plea.
In the charge, the Binance trading platform was accused of offering services (in the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and the remittance and transfer of those assets) to Nigerians while failing to deduct the necessary Value Added Taxes(VAT), arising from its operations.
However, Idehu urged the court to direct that the Binance representative from Nigeria should enter the dock and take his plea on behalf of the corporation he represents.
Krukrubo and Gambaryan’s legal team contended that Nigerian law does not mandate a representative of a company that is sued to stand inside a dock and take a plea.
They argued that a representative of a company that is sued may not need to attend proceedings and can even write a letter to the court in respect of the company’s position on a matter.
The defense seized the moment and urged the court to discharge Gambaryan and Nadeem from the FIRS case since a representative had been officially sent to the proceedings.
The FIRS also confirmed that the matter is now between the federal government and Binance.
Godfrey Eshiemoghie
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