The trial for the money laundering lawsuit brought against Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, was moved up till May 17 by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Tony Krukrubo’s attorney told the court during today’s sessions that he had not yet received the supplementary proof of evidence.
Nonetheless, the court bailiff informed the judge that despite his best attempts, Gambaryan vehemently refused to accept the service when he was served the paperwork on April 30 at Kuje prison.
He continued by saying that Gambaryan had instructed him to serve the documents on Binance Holdings Limited’s attorney as the first defendant currently has legal representation of its own.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, directed that the court documents be served to Binance’s attorney.
Following the service, the subject was later postponed.
The judge said, “This matter will now be adjourned till May 17 for trial”.
Recall that on April 23, the Federal High Court Abuja scheduled a ruling on Gambaryan’s plea for May 17 after hearing arguments from both his and the prosecution’s attorneys.
Gambaryan attempted to persuade the court that he should be given bail through the representation of Mark Mordi (SAN).
Mordi said, among other things, that it is difficult for him to have a client who has been detained for more than 50 years in a foreign country without receiving visits from family.
He went on to say that, contrary to what the prosecution claimed, his client did not present a flight risk.
“He can’t go anywhere, they (EFCC) have his passport. Already, being here unable to go meet his family is enough torture.
“The proof of service does not contain one document that incriminates my client. I dare him (complainant) to bring it out let’s see,” he stated.
However, in order to keep Gambaryan from escaping, the prosecution’s attorney, Emeka Iheanacho, requested the court to deny Gambaryan’s bid for release and move him from Kuje jail to EFCC custody.
Like his counterpart Anjarwalla, Iheanacho claimed that Gambaryan constituted a flight risk.
He also informed the court that the defendant had made an attempt to obtain a new foreign passport under the guise of missing his own from the US Embassy.
He also informed the court that the defendant possesses dual citizenship from two different countries. by birth both Armenian and American.
The Federal Government arrested and jailed Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited, and Anjarwalla, a top executive who is currently fugitive, for the firm’s alleged $35 million participation in money laundering.
The three defendants in the lawsuit were charged with working together to hide whence the money from their purported illegal operations in Nigeria originated.
