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BREAKING: Nigerian Government Drops Money Laundering Charges Against Binance Executive

Published

2 years ago

October 23, 2024

Editor

The Nigerian government has dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance Holdings, who has been facing money laundering trial from detention since April.

A lawyer representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – the prosecuting agency – announced the withdrawal of the charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja Wednesday, 23rd of October, 2024.

Announcing the withdrawal of the charges, the lawyer said Mr Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was merely an employee of Binance, whose activities he was being prosecuted for.

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.

Recall that the judge, Emeka Nwite, rejected his second bail application on 11 October, ruling that Mr Gambaryan’s grounds of ill health were not sufficient to release him from detention.

The judge then fixed 18 October for continuation for trial but Mr Gambaryan was surprisingly absent.

The judge then rescheduled the trial for 25 October, which appears to have now been overtaken by the event of Wednesday’s unpublicised hearing.

Wednesday’s hearing abruptly ended the case.

Mr Gambaryan has been held at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja since his arraignment in April.

He is standing trial alongside Binance, a cryptocurrency company, on five counts of money laundering and currency speculation involving as much as $34.4 million.

Binance is facing tax evasion charges in a separate case before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In May, the court denied the Binance executive’s bail application, judging him a flight risk.

The court’s decision came about two months after Mr Gambaryan’s colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, reportedly escaped from a pre-trial custody in Abuja in March.

Since the court’s decision denying him bail, Mr Gambaryan’s health condition has been a recurring feature in the trial and the basis for the subsequent unsuccessful bail application.

On 11 October, the court dismissed Mr Gambaryan’s second bail application anchored on ill health.

The judge held that Mr Gambaryan failed to show in the bail application that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) did not have adequate facilities or had failed to take care of his ill-health.

He also ruled that the bail application constituted an abuse of court process. Mr Gambaryan’s request could not be granted when he was still challenging the ruling on his earlier bail application at the Court of Appeal.

The judge, who stressed that the defendant failed to withdraw his pending appeal against the earlier ruling on his bail application before filling another motion, said such an act amounted to an abuse of court process.

“There is no gainsaying on this leg alone that this application is bound to fail,” he said.

The judge, however, ordered the NCoS to refer Mr Gambaryan to any standard hospital in Abuja for a period of two to three days.

Related Topics:Binance binance Executive

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Edo NLC Crisis: Caretaker Committee Drags Rival Exco, Govt To Court

Published

3 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The division in the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), took a new dimension on Wednesday as Prof. Monday Monday Lewis Igbafen-led caretaker committee approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Benin Judicial Division, seeking to affirm its authority and restrain a rival executive from parading itself as the council’s leadership.

Joined in the suit are the Edo State Government, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

In a suit marked: NICN/BEN/12/2026, and filed before the court in Benin, the claimant, Igbafen, acting for himself and on behalf of the NLC Caretaker Committee in Edo State, is challenging the continued occupation of the union’s secretariat and control of its assets by members of the Bernard Egwakhide-led factional State Executive Council.

The claimants are asking the court to declare that the caretaker committee (Igbafen-led faction), constituted on August 11, 2025, by the NLC national leadership, remains the only lawful authority to administer the affairs of the Edo State Council pending fresh elections.

They further seek a declaration that the continued occupation of the NLC secretariat located at No. 1 Teboga Road, Benin City, as well as the retention of union assets, financial records, and official instruments by the defendants, is illegal and void.

The suit also prays for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as officials of the NLC Edo Council or interfering with the functions of the caretaker committee.

In addition, the claimants are seeking a mandatory order compelling the defendants to immediately hand over the secretariat, vehicles, financial documents, cheque books, and all other properties belonging to the union.

The caretaker committee further urged the court to restrain the state government and its officials from interfering in the internal affairs of the union, alleging undue support for the dissolved executive.

The claimants further demand N50 million as general and exemplary damages against the defendants for alleged unlawful usurpation of office and acts prejudicial to the administration of the council.

According to court documents made available to our correspondent, the crisis followed the dissolution of the Edo State Council by the NLC National Executive Council on February 27, 2025, over allegations of misconduct, anti-union activities, and constitutional violations.

However, the matter has yet to be assigned a hearing date.

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Transfer: Premier League Clubs Scramble For Dele-Bashiru

Published

8 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

Lazio midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is a subject of interest from three Premier League clubs, according to Sky Sports.

Lazio reportedly rejected offers from Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for the Nigeria international in January.

La Biancolesti are bracing for more interest in Dele-Bashiru ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports.

The 24-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Serie A club.

The attacking midfielder joined the Rome-based club from Turkish Super Lig outfit Hatayspor in 2024.

He has been a regular feature for Lazio this season.

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Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Students To Picket MTN, MultiChoice, Other Businesses

Published

9 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS South-West Zone D, has announced plans to picket South African companies in Nigeria following the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

DAILY POST reports that some Nigerians were recently killed in South Africa over the violent attacks.

A statement issued to newsmen by Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, Coordinator, NANS South-West, Zone D, said that the association is mobilizing to take decisive and lawful action by organizing peaceful picketing and mass advocacy against South African business interests operating in Nigeria.

“We categorically state that the continued targeting of Nigerians under any guise is unacceptable and must come to an immediate end.

“This will include major corporations such as MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere.

“This contradiction will no longer be tolerated,” the statement said.