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BREAKING: FG drops money laundering charges against Binance executive Gambaryan

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The Federal government of Nigeria has dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance Holdings, who has been on trial for money laundering and currency speculations at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, ordered Mr Gambaryan, a US citizen, to be immediately released from Kuje prison in Abuja, following a request by the prosecution during Wednesday morning’s proceedings.

The development, coming two days ahead of the previously scheduled hearing set for 25 October, which had been announced in open court last Friday, appears to be planned to avoid attracting widespread attention.

Meanwhile, the judge sustained the money laundering charges against Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, which now stands as the sole defendant in the case.

The firm is accused of money laundering and currency speculation involving as much as $34.4 million to the detriment of the Nigerian forex market and economy.

A lawyer, R.U. Adaba, representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – the prosecuting agency – applied on Wednesday morning to the court to stop the prosecution of Mr Gambaryan.

She cited diplomatic interventions and the extent of the defendant’s involvement in the alleged crimes as the key reasons for the decision.

“The government has reviewed the case and, taken into consideration that the second defendant (Mr Gambaryan) is an employee of the first defendant (Binance Holdings Limited), whose status in the matter has more impact than the second defendant’s, and also taking into consideration some critical international and diplomatic reasons, the state seeks to discontinue the case against the second defendant,” Ms Adaba said.

She also cited Mr Gambaryan’s worsening health in custody.

She noted that “the health of the defendant has been a recurrent issue which the state has managed well at the correctional centre facility through NSA (the National Security Adviser.”

But despite the Nigerian government’s best efforts at caring for him, Ms Adaba said “the second defendant can barely walk without a wheelchair or crutches and in addition with other ailments.”

“A surgery had been recommended,” she added, and the recovery process “may take some time that may impact on the pace of the trial.

”Mark Mordi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing Mr Gambaryan, agreed with the prosecution, saying that his client was not involved in the company’s broader financial decisions.

“We ask the court to expedite everything to ensure Mr Gambaryan leaves the facility of the correctional centre,” the senior lawyer said.

In addition to seeking his client’s discharge, Mr Mordi asked for full acquittal, citing Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) for the second defendant to be “discharged and acquitted.

Wednesday’s hearing marked the culmination of months of intense, behind-the-scenes diplomatic talks between Nigerian and US government officials, aimed at securing the release of Mr GambaryanIn the weeks leading up to the hearing, some US lawmakers had campaigned for the release of Mr Gambaryan, writing to relevant Nigerian and American authorities to intervene.

The pressure on the Nigerian government intensified after the trial court twice denied the defendant’s bail requests.

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Business

Dangote refinery gets new CEO

David Bird is the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery

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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.

The CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.

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Trump Imposes 15% tariff on Nigerian Imports

Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.

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US President Donald Trump has approved a 15 percent import tariff on Nigeria and dozens of other countries.

The White House announced the implementation of the new reciprocal tariff rates on Thursday.

In April, Trump imposed a 14% tariff on Nigerian imports, citing the need for fairer trade terms.

That move was followed by a 90 – day grace period to allow time for bilateral trade negotiations, pushing the final decision deadline to August 1.

However, the majority of talks failed to result in new trade agreements.

As a result, the new tariff rates are now being implemented, with Nigeria among dozens of countries facing increased duties under the revised plan.

African countries, including Nigeria, were unable to secure individual trade deals with the United States despite urgent efforts from both sides.

During the negotiation window, Trump also reintroduced travel restrictions targeting several African nations. Though Nigeria was initially exempt, it was later added to the list as the policy evolved.

Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.

Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.

10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.

More severe penalties include 25–41% tariffs for countries like India, South Africa, Iraq, and Syria.

Switzerland faces a steep 39% duty, while Laos and Myanmar are hit with 40%.Syria tops the list at 41%.

Meanwhile, negotiations are still ongoing with China, Washington’s main trade rival.

Canada is facing a 35% tariff, while Mexico was hit with a trio of levies, including a 50% duty on metals. Brazil, previously under a 10% tariff, was slapped with an additional 40% charge on Thursday, bringing its total to 50%.

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EU accuses online giant Temu of selling ‘illegal’ products

EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.

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The European Union accused Chinese-founded online shopping giant Temu on Monday of breaking the bloc’s digital rules by not “properly” assessing the risks of illegal products.

AFP reports that TEMU, wildly popular in the European Union despite only having entered the continent’s market in 2023, Temu has 93.7 million average monthly active users in the 27- country bloc.

EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.

Evidence showed that there is a high risk for consumers in the EU to encounter illegal products on the platform,” the European Commission said in its preliminary finding.

It pointed to a mystery shopping exercise that found consumers were “very likely to find non-compliant products among the offer, such as baby toys and small electronics.”

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