The tax evasion case involving Binance holdings limited, and its executives took a dramatic new turn this week as detained executive, Tigran Gambaryan, failed to show up at the federal high court in Abuja where he is standing trial.
Gambaryan, a top binance executive was expected in court for arraignment after he was served with the charges levelled against him by the federal inland revenue service (FIRS).
The company was sued by the FIRS for tax evasion alongside officials of the company – Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled the country on march 22, 2024.
Binance is facing a 4-count charge after being 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 the subscribers for the purposes of determining and payment of its value-added taxes.
Counsel to the FIRS, Moses Ideh, was visibly upset by the development and opposed a stand down on the matter. He accused the defence counsel of knowing his client was not going to be present in court and not doing enough to make him available.
However, the defence counsel, Chukwuka Ikwuazo (SAN), said his client was not in court because the Correctional Service was yet to bring him. He asked for a stand down to find out what might have happened.
He denied the claims by the prosecution counsel and said the defendant is in the custody of the Correctional Service and they are to blame for not providing him. He then asked for an adjournment and promised to ensure that the defendant is present in court on the next adjourned date. Justice Emeka Nwite, therefore, adjourned the matter till June 14, for arraignment.
