Binance Nigeria Money Laundering Trial Delayed to May 17, Says Gambaryan Family Spokesperson

Binance Nigeria's money laundering trial has been delayed to May 17, a spokesperson for the family of detained executive Tigran Gambaryan said on Thursday.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin today, but was pushed back after Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented a document as evidence that the Binance lawyers had not seen. He had a right to see it, and the judge overseeing the case gave Gambaryan more time to scrutinize the evidence, which is reportedly 300 pages long.

Gambaryan, who is a U.S. citizen and Binance's head of financial compliance, was detained in Nigeria alongside British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, in February. The company, alongside the executives, was given anti-money laundering charges as well as tax evasion charges from Nigerian authorities almost a month later. The EFCC brought forward the money laundering charges.

Anjarwalla has since escaped, and Nigerian authorities have been on the hunt for him. Gambaryan is in Kuje prison while he awaits his bail hearing which is also set to occur on May 17 at the same time as the tax evasion trial. The tax evasion trial was also pushed back in April because the exchange had not been formally served with charges.

Update (May 2, 2024, 16:43 UTC): Adds additional detail.