Binance to face Nigeria in court next week, earlier than planned

Yuki Gambaryan is worried sick. Her husband, Tigran Gambaryan, who works as the head of financial crime compliance for Binance, has been stuck in a Nigerian prison since February. His health? Not great. 

Yuki’s been begging the Nigerian government to drop the charges against him, even asking the U.S. to step in and help get him out. But now, the courtroom drama is kicking off sooner than expected. 

A judge will hear the case against Binance and two of its top people next week. It’s all about money laundering, and it’s happening more than a month earlier than everyone thought. 

This wasn’t the plan, but the defense team pushed for the change, and now we’re all here, waiting for what comes next.

The allegations? Not pretty. They’re saying Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, laundered over $35 million. And it doesn’t stop there. The Nigerian authorities are also throwing in accusations of tax evasion. 

Binance, along with Tigan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the British-Kenyan guy managing Binance’s Africa operations, are at the center of it all. But hold up—Anjarwalla isn’t even in the country anymore. 

He slipped out of detention and fled Nigeria before the trial could even begin. Tigran, though, is still in Nigeria, stuck in jail, waiting to see what happens next.

But let’s not forget why Nigeria is coming down hard on Binance in the first place. The country’s currency, the naira, is struggling. Nigeria’s blaming Binance for some of it, saying the platform became the go-to place for people trading naira when they couldn’t get their hands on U.S. dollars. 

The whole dollar shortage thing has been a big issue for Nigeria, and Binance is getting caught in the crossfire. Back in March, Binance decided to stop all trading in naira, probably to avoid even more heat from Nigerian regulators. But by then, the damage was already done.

While this courtroom saga is grabbing headlines, there’s another story unfolding. Nigeria’s trying to get a grip on its booming crypto market.

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is releasing a new licensing process for crypto exchanges and virtual asset providers. 

They’re trying to bring some order to the chaos, especially after they banned banks from getting involved with crypto transactions. SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama is pushing this hard, saying it’s all about supporting Nigeria’s fintech sector.

And it doesn’t end there. Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is getting ready to hit crypto transactions with taxes. They’re planning to introduce a bill by September 2024 that would slap a 7.5% value-added tax (VAT) on all crypto deals.