BREAKING: Court Takes Action on FG vs Binance Suit

• Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan's bail application has been denied by the federal high court in Abuja
• The court denied the bail application on the ground that Tigran Gambaryan has the tendency to jump the bail
• The federal government counsel argued that Tigran Gambaryan is not only a citizen of the United States but a citizen of Armenian by birth

The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the bail application to free an official of the cryptocurrency giant Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the court ruled on Friday, May 17, said Gambaryan, who is currently facing money laundering offences, is likely to jump bail if granted.

Money laundering: Binance executive pleaded not guilty

Channels TV reported that Binance Holdings Limited and its executive were arraigned on a five-count charge, in which the defendants pleaded not guilty.

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Mark Mordi, the defence counsel in an application, posited that the court is empowered to grant bail to his client and impose conditions to ensure that he is always in court.

Ekele Iheanacho, counsel to the federal government, opposed Binance's bail application, stating that the defendant was a flight risk.

Why court denied bail application of Binance executive

According to the prosecuting counsel, the Binance executive attempted to obtain a new passport, claiming the previous one was stolen. He said the act was suspicious because of the closeness between the time and when his colleague escaped from custody.

He then urged the court not to grant him the request, considering the fact that he was not connected to any community in Nigeria.

His statement reads in part:

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“The fact that the passport of the defendant is with the complainant does not guarantee that he will remain in Nigeria because the defendant is not only an American citizen but also an Armenian citizen by birth."

PDP chieftain speaks on FG vs Binance

Meanwhile, a PDP chieftain, Rilwan Olanrewaju, has commented that the fall of the naira against the dollar was not due to the operation of cryptocurrency companies such as Binance but to weak economic policies from President Bola Tinubu's administration.

He said:

"Binance was never an issue. Binance had been in Nigeria long before these people came to power. Mr Cardoso, under the president's instruction, floated the naira at the very wrong time, which led to borrowing money to defend the naira. They choose to blame finance because they are not used to taking responsibility."

Naira vs Dollar: Reno Omokri tackles Binance

Legit.ng earlier reported that Reno Omokri, a PDP chieftain and former presidential aide, has condemned Binance's allegation that officials in NSA Nuhu Ribadu's office demanded a bribe from the cryptocurrency company.

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Omokri said the allegations were a ploy to escape the prosecution for their criminality because Binance had just admitted to money laundering and other dishonest acts in the US.

The former presidential aide then challenged the cryptocurrency company to name names of the officials who demanded the $150 million bribe at the NSA office.

Source: Legit.ng