The Federal High Court will hear the money laundering case against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives next week.
According to a Reuters report, the case has been moved up by more than a month at the request of the defense lawyers, as confirmed by the prosecutor on Monday.
The next court hearing, initially scheduled for October 11, has been rescheduled to September 2.
Binance, along with U.S. citizen and head of financial crime compliance Tigran Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, are accused of laundering over $35 million.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is also facing allegations of tax evasion.
Both Binance and Gambaryan have denied the charges. Anjarwalla fled Nigeria before the trial began and remains at large.
Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since February, and his health has reportedly deteriorated in prison, according to his wife, Yuki Gambaryan.
She has appealed to the Nigerian government to drop the charges and release her husband on health grounds, while also seeking assistance from the U.S. government to secure his release.
Nigeria has blamed Binance for contributing to its currency weakness, as cryptocurrency platforms became popular for trading the Nigerian naira amid chronic dollar shortages, leading to the currency’s record low.
In March, Binance announced that it would halt all transactions and trading in naira due to a nationwide crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges, which authorities have accused of fueling a black market for foreign exchange.
In July, Gambaryan was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair. However, when his case was called, Gambaryan, dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, stood up from the wheelchair and walked slowly to the dock.
EFCC lawyer Ogechi Ujam informed the court that although the trial was scheduled to continue, the commission’s lead counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, was absent. Ujam requested that the court adjourn the matter to allow Iheanacho to conduct the trial.
Both Binance’s lawyer, Babatunde Fagbohunlu (SAN), and Mark Mordi, who represented Gambaryan, did not oppose this request.
Justice Emeka Nwite agreed to the adjournment.
Previously, on July 5, Justice Nwite had ordered the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to release Gambaryan’s medical certificate by July 16, following a request from Gambaryan’s lawyer.
Mordi had also asked the court to summon the medical doctor from the Kuje Correctional Centre to explain why the medical report had not been provided despite the court’s earlier order.
Comments are closed.