Binance Holdings Limited | InsideOjodu https://www.insideojodu.com ...conecting the community Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:33:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.9.10 http://www.insideojodu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/favicon.ico Binance Holdings Limited | InsideOjodu https://www.insideojodu.com 32 32 EFCC plans fleeing executive’s extradition https://www.insideojodu.com/efcc-plans-fleeing-executives-extradition/ https://www.insideojodu.com/efcc-plans-fleeing-executives-extradition/#respond Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:33:03 +0000 https://www.insideojodu.com/?p=55243 The Economy and Financial Crimes Commission has charged Binance Holdings Limited and two of…

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The Economy and Financial Crimes Commission has charged Binance Holdings Limited and two of its senior executives, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla – who is on the run, with $35,400,000 money laundering.

EFCC, which has now fully taken over the case from the Office of the National Security Adviser, has also detained Gambaryan, and has obtained a court warrant to arrest and extradite the escapee Anjarwalla.

The anti-graft commission is partnering with the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Kenyan government, to effect the arrest and extradition of Anjarwalla, the fugitive who fled from lawful custody in Nigeria.

Following the takeover of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities committed by Binance, the EFCC has filed five-count charges bordering on money laundering against the cryptocurrency giant and two of its executives, Anjarwalla and Gambaryan.

The court documents exclusively obtained by our correspondent revealed that the charges were filed on Thursday, March 28, 2024, before the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja division.

The charges read, “That you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), between January, 2023 and January, 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court carried on specialised business of other financial institution without valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial, Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under section 57(5) of the same Act.

“Count two, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), between January, 2022 and January, 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court engaged in business of other financial institution (other than insurance, stock broking and pension fund management) without valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 58(5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.

“Count three, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) between January, 2022 and January, 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court not being an authorised dealer in Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market used your virtual asset services platform to unlawfully negotiate foreign exchange rates in Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 29(1) (c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring And Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.

“Count four, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), and other persons at large between January, 2023 and January, 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to conceal the origin of the proceeds of your unlawful activities and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 21 (a) and punishable under section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“Count five, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla between January, 2023 and December, 2023 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court concealed the origin of a cumulative sum of $35,400, 000 generated as revenue by Binance in Nigeria knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and prohibition) Act, 2022.”

Recall that the Federal Government, on Monday, contacted the International Criminal Police Organisation and issued an arrest warrant for the apprehension of one of the detained executives of a global crypto-currency firm, Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped from lawful custody on Friday.

The PUNCH had reported that it gathered from the Office of the National Security Adviser that Anjarwalla, a suspect in the probe into the activities of Binance in Nigeria, used a Kenyan passport to escape, while his colleague was still in custody.

The escapee Binance official, who has British and Kenyan nationalities, escaped from Abuja through a Middle East airliner, as his firm in Nigeria confirmed that Anjarwalla was no longer in the country, adding that the company would cooperate with security agencies.

The escape shocked security agencies, as they revealed that the fleeing executive was kept in a ‘safe house’ guarded by soldiers, adding that the security guards on duty had been detained.

He noted that efforts were ongoing to arrest the suspect.

The statement read, “The Office of the National Security Adviser confirms that Nadeem Anjarwalla, a suspect in the ongoing criminal probe into the activities of Binance in Nigeria, has escaped from lawful custody on Friday, March 22, 2024.

“Upon receiving this report, this office took immediate steps, in conjunction with relevant security agencies, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as the international community, to apprehend the suspect.

“Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect. Preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.”

Mijinyawa noted that the personnel responsible for the custody of Anjarwalla had been arrested, adding that investigations were ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding his escape.

“The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention.

“Recall that the Federal Government of Nigeria, like other governments around the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform.

“Until his escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and served as Binance’s Africa Regional Manager, was being tried by Nigerian courts.

“The suspect escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria. He was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4, 2024,” the statement added.

The ONSA spokesperson urged Nigerians and the international community to help with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect.

Mijinyawa said, “We urge the Nigerian public and the international community to provide whatever information they have that can assist law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspect.”

Financial Times had on February 28, 2024, reported that two executives of the company were arrested and detained after they flew into the country as a result of a ban on their website.

On March 12, 2024, the FT reported that the EFCC asked Binance to share data on its 100 top users in Nigeria as well as all transaction history for the past six months.

According to the report, the request is at the centre of negotiations between Binance and Nigeria.

The escaped Binance executive fled Nigeria on his smuggled Kenyan passport.

Anjarwalla’s escape from custody last Friday steered controversy across the country since the news broke Monday morning.

The embattled Binance executive who is both a citizen of the United Kingdom and Kenya, had had his British passport seized by the Nigerian authorities.

However, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Monday night, the spokesperson for the Office of the NSA, Mijinyawa, revealed that Anjarwalla fled the country using his Kenyan passport.

Responding to an enquiry on the particular country’s passport used by Anjarwalla to escape from Nigeria, Mijinwaya said, “Kenyan. His other passport remains with the Nigerian authorities.”

Meanwhile, impeccable sources had earlier told our correspondents that Anjarwalla and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, were detained in a “safe house” guarded by heavily armed soldiers.

It was further revealed that the embattled crypto-currency gurus were detained on the order of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The high-placed security sources also noted that some of the military personnel guarding the safe house had been detained.

“The escape of Mr Anjarwalla from custody came as a surprise to many of us in the security community. He wasn’t detained by the EFCC or the DSS, he and his colleague were detained in a ‘safe house’ guarded by heavily armed soldiers of the Nigerian Army, on the order of the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu,” one of the sources revealed.

Another source who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The soldiers who were on duty on the day he escaped have been detained and are being interrogated over the matter.

“The Office of the National Security Adviser is the one coordinating the poet, while other relevant security agencies, the EFCC, DSS, police, FIRS, are carrying out their own independent investigations and have been questioning the Binance executives at the ‘safe house’ which is being guarded by the military.”

However, the Nigerian Immigrations Service and the Nigeria Police Force, have been silent on the development.

Anjarwalla, 38, escaped on Friday, March 22, 2024 from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.

Authorities are also said to be working to unravel his intended destination in a bid to get him back into custody.

An Immigration official said the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport. He, however, said authorities were trying to determine how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was taken into custody.

Another source said the two officials were held at a “comfortable guest house” and allowed many rights, including the use of telephones, a privilege Anjarwalla is believed to have exploited to plot an escape.

Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on February 26, 2024.

A criminal charge was filed against the two executives before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. On February 28, 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission an order to remand the duo for 14 days.

The court also ordered Binance to provide the Nigerian government with the data/information of Nigerians trading on its platform.

Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the remand of the officials for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence. The court then adjourned the case till April 4, 2024.

Also on March 22, the Nigerian government approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and slammed another four-count charge on Binance Holdings Limited, Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan, accusing them of offering services to subscribers on their platform while failing to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to pay all relevant taxes administered by the service.

And in so doing, they committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).

The defendants were also accused of offering taxable services to subscribers on their trading platform while failing to issue invoices to those subscribers to determine and pay their value-added taxes and, in so doing, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under S.29 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as amended).

Count three of the charges accused the three defendants of offering services to subscribers on their Binance trading platform for the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and the remittance and transfer of those assets while failing to deduct the necessary Value Added Taxes arising from their operations and thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act 2007 (as amended).

The last count of the charges wants the defendants punished for allegedly aiding and abetting subscribers on their Binance trading platform to unlawfully refuse to pay taxes or neglect to pay those taxes and, in so doing, committing an offence contrary to and punishable under the provisions of S.94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).

The Nigerian government had, in the past three months, been cracking down on suspected money launderers and terrorism financiers, some of whom it alleged were using the Binance platform for criminal activities

The Nigerian government said over $21.6bn was traded by Nigerians whose identities were concealed by Binance.

The government also claimed its investigations revealed that unscrupulous elements were using Binance for money laundering, terrorist financing, currency speculation, and market manipulation, distorting the Nigerian economy and weakening the naira against other currencies.

The detention of Binance officials in Nigeria began months after the crypto exchange platform pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3bn to settle criminal money laundering charges levied by the US Department of Justice.

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, pleaded guilty and agreed to resign. His criminal trial has been postponed to April 30, 2024, by a US court.

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Court fixes April 4 for Binance executives arraignment https://www.insideojodu.com/court-fixes-april-4-for-binance-executives-arraignment/ https://www.insideojodu.com/court-fixes-april-4-for-binance-executives-arraignment/#respond Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:25:56 +0000 https://www.insideojodu.com/?p=55207 The arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and its officials, Tigran Gambaryan, and fleeing Nadeem…

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The arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and its officials, Tigran Gambaryan, and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla, on allegations of tax evasion has been fixed for April 4, 2024.

The date was contained in the hearing notice sent to the parties involved in the matter.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service had on Monday filed charges bordering on tax evasion against the company and its officials.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, Binance was accused of failing to register with the FIRS for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.

The FIRS also alleged that while it was offering taxable services to subscribers on its trading platform, the company failed to issue invoices to those subscribers for the purposes of determining and payment of its value added taxes.

The company and its executives were further accused of offering services to subscribers on their trading platform in the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and in the remittance and transfer of those assets, and that having offered those services, was obliged to deduct VATs, and failed to deduct necessary VATs, arising from their operations.

FIRS, in addition, claimed that the defendants had while involved in the offering of services to subscribers on their trading platform, did aid and abet those subscribers to unlawfully refuse to pay taxes, or neglect to pay those taxes.

The offences were said to be punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the VAT Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended) respectively.

Financial Times had on February 28 reported that two executives of the company were arrested and detained after they flew into the country as a result of a ban on their website.

On March 12, 2024, the FT reported that the EFCC asked Binance to share data on its 100 top users in Nigeria as well as all transaction history for the past six months.

According to the report, the request is at the centre of negotiations between Binance and Nigeria.

On Friday, one of the company’s executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, fled the country after escaping from a safe custody.

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EFCC obtains order to track Nigerians transacting on Binance https://www.insideojodu.com/efcc-obtains-order-to-track-nigerians-transacting-on-binance/ https://www.insideojodu.com/efcc-obtains-order-to-track-nigerians-transacting-on-binance/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:05:48 +0000 https://www.insideojodu.com/?p=54953 The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide…

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The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with comprehensive information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

The court handed down the order following an ex parte motion filed by the EFCC demanding information about Nigerians trading on Binance.

The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024 and dated February 29 according to the anti-graft agency was brought pursuant to sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended).

In the affidavit filed in support of the motion an operative of the EFCC, Hamma Bello, stated that the Special Investigation Team of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser received intelligence that money laundering and terrorism financing were carried out on Binance.

He said, “On receipt of the Intelligence, the team began an investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.

“The team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation and market manipulation which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the naira losing its value against other currencies.

“The damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform. “The information afforded to the team by Binance shows trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6bn.”

Bello stated that the requested data would help the commission to complete its investigation.

In the certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on February 29 but sighted by journalists on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order.

He said, “The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.

“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.”

Binance is an online exchange where users can trade cryptocurrencies.

The  Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, at a press briefing after the 293rd meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja on February, disclosed that more than $26bn was channeled through  Binance without traces in the last one year.

Financial Times had on February 28 reported that two executives of the company were arrested and detained after they flew into the country as a result of a ban on their website.

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