PANews reported on May 23 that according to Reuters, the tax evasion case of the Nigerian court against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla (Binance Africa Regional Manager) stalled in the trial on Wednesday because the authorities failed to bring Gambaryan to court. Therefore, the court has decided to postpone the case until next month for possible prosecution. Last Friday, the Abuja Court ruled that Gambaryan could represent Binance in the tax evasion trial, but the authorities did not explain why he failed to appear in court. Moses Ideho, a lawyer for the tax bureau, said that Gambaryan should have been brought to court by the Nigerian Prison Service, but he was not sure why he did not appear in court.
In addition, Binance and its two executives face four charges of tax evasion, including failure to register with the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service for tax registration. Anjarwalla escaped custody in March, but his name is still listed in the case, without being marked as "at large." Gambaryan's lawyer Chukwuka Ikwuazom pointed out that this could stall the trial because Nigerian law requires that a case can proceed only after both parties have been informed.
In May, Binance CEO Richard Teng accused Nigeria of setting a dangerous precedent by detaining its executives as part of a crackdown on cryptocurrency after inviting them to the country. Binance is currently challenging a trial on tax evasion and money laundering charges.
