The federal government has discontinued the prosecution of Tigran Gambaryan, one of the Binance executives accused of tax evasion by the authorities.
The government dropped the charges on Friday, according to TheCable.
Gambaryan was charged by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) before the Federal High Court in Abuja after Nadeem Anjarwalla, his colleague, escaped from official custody in April. Up till today, the escapee has not been extradited and the government is yet to explain how he was able to flee the country despite his travel documents being with the government.
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The FIRS intends to file new charges against the Binance Exchange as a single entity through Ayodele Omotilewa. The agency told the court that Omotilewa would now serve as the company’s legal representative in Nigeria.
Dare Adekanmbi, the FIRS spokesperson, confirmed the withdrawal of the case, saying the government “is dropping charges against the two individuals sued along with the cryptocurrency firm, Binance”.
“Please note that the charges are being dropped against the second and the third defendants in the matter,” Adekanmbi said.
The withdrawal of the case came eleven days after twelve United States’ federal lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden to take an urgent action for the release of the accused person.
Others addressed in the letter were Antony Blinke, Secretary of State; and Roger Carstens, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
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The lawmakers worried about Gambaryan’s health inside the Kuje correctional centre in which he was being kept while the tax evasion and money laundering lawsuit was pending before the court.
The company has commended the decision, maintaining that Gambaryan was not part of its decision-making organ.
The post BREAKING: FG Discontinues Prosecution of Binance Executive appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.