Federal High Court Summons CBN Governor, Legal Head In Binance Money Laundering Case
A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a summons to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Head of the Legal Services Department of the CBN, requiring their presence along with specific documents on Monday, September 2. This date has been set for the continuation of the money laundering trial against Binance Holdings Limited and its executives.
Previously, Justice Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, had scheduled the next court session for October 11. However, following a request from the defense counsel, the court agreed to move the trial up by one month.
The charges, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accuse Binance USA’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigan Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, of laundering $35 million. Both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were initially detained by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Anjarwalla escaped custody on March 22, 2024, while Gambaryan was transferred to EFCC custody and later to Kuje Correctional Facility, where he remains detained.
The court’s order, titled Subpoena Duces Tecum, with charge number FHC/ABCR/138/2024, pertains to the case between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Binance Holdings Limited and Tigran Gambaryan. The CBN officials are instructed to either appear before the court or delegate someone to do so.
The subpoena directed to the CBN Governor reads: “You or any other officer you may delegate are commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, presided over by Honourable Justice E. Nwite, on the 2nd day of September 2024 at 9 o’clock in the forenoon, and from day to day until the above cause is tried, to bring with you and produce at the time and place mentioned the following documents: Certified True Copy of the excel spreadsheet captioned ‘Export Exchange Rate Results’ published on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website for the period from 1 June 2024 to 16 August 2024.”
A similar subpoena was issued to the Head of the CBN’s Legal Services Department, containing nearly identical wording and instructions.
