The Federal High Court in Abuja has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Head of the Legal Services Department of the apex bank to produce specific documents at the next hearing of a money laundering case against Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives.
The court, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, rescheduled the trial to Monday, September 2, from the previously set date of October 11, following a request by the defense counsel to bring the hearing forward by a month.
The case involves Binance USA’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who are facing charges of laundering $35 million brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Gambaryan is currently detained at Kuje Correctional Facility, while Anjarwalla fled custody on March 22, 2024.
The court’s subpoena requires the CBN officials to appear with a Certified True Copy of an excel spreadsheet titled “Export Exchange Rate Results” published on the CBN’s website, covering the period from June 1, 2024, to August 16, 2024.
Failure to comply could impact the ongoing trial, which addresses allegations against the cryptocurrency exchange and its executives amid heightened scrutiny by Nigerian authorities.
