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The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued subpoenas to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, and the Head of its Legal Services Department, compelling their appearance in court on Monday, September 2, 2024. They are required to present specific documents related to the ongoing money laundering case against Binance Holdings Limited and its executives.
This legal action coincides with the ongoing trial of Tigran Gambaryan, Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Binance USA, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa. Both are facing charges of laundering $35 million, a case brought forward by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Tigran Gambaryan is currently detained at the Kuje Correctional Facility, while Anjarwalla reportedly escaped custody on March 22, 2024.
Binance CEO Richard Teng recently criticized the Nigerian authorities over Tigran’s continued detention, labeling it as “inexplicable” and “unjust.” In a statement issued last Thursday, Teng disclosed that Tigran, who suffers from a herniated disc, is enduring severe pain and has been unable to walk. Teng further alleged that the Nigerian government has denied Tigran access to adequate medical care, including a wheelchair, and has not complied with court orders to release his medical records.
Following Teng’s statement, the court directed the CBN officials to produce Certified True Copies of Excel spreadsheets containing exchange rate data from June 1 to August 16, 2024.
The court’s subpoena to the CBN reads: “You or any other officer you may delegate are commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, presided over by the Honourable Justice E. Nwite, on the 2nd day of September 2024 at 9 o’clock in the forenoon, and from day to day until the above cause is tried, to bring with you and produce at the time and place mentioned the following documents: Certified True Copy of the Excel spreadsheet captioned ‘Export Exchange Rate Results’ published on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website for the period from June 1, 2024, to August 16, 2024.”
In a separate subpoena addressed to the CBN’s Head of Legal Services Department, the court reiterated the demand for the specified documents, mandating their presence at the Federal High Court on the specified date.
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