A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, executives of Binance Holdings Limited, from alleged tax evasion charges.
Jerrymusa.com reports that the court struck out their names from the four-count charge after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) filed an amended charge listing Binance as the sole defendant.
The court’s decision came after FIRS’ counsel, Moses Ideho, filed a fresh amended charge, and Binance appointed a representative in Nigeria, Ayodele Omotilewa.
Court Proceedings
However, there was a disagreement between the prosecution and defense on whether Omotilewa should take a plea on behalf of the company.
The defense team, led by Tonye Krukrubo, SAN, argued that Omotilewa had not been served with the amended charge and should not enter the dock.
Krukrubo insisted that the prosecution had not served them with the amended charge, and Omotilewa was only appearing in court for the first time.
He stated that the proper thing for the prosecution to do was to address the court on the charge they intended to substitute.
C.J. Caleb, who appeared for Gambaryan, aligned himself with Krukrubo’s submission. He argued that the criminal trial of a corporation, as it stands today, does not contemplate that a corporation or its representative should be in the dock.
He cited Sections 478, 481, 482, and 483 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which specify the requirements for a representative in a criminal trial.
However, Ideho disagreed, citing Section 481 of the ACJA to back his argument. He stated that a representative cannot just sit in the gallery and watch like a spectator how the trial is conducted.
The court’s ruling has sparked debate on the legal representation of corporations in criminal trials, with implications for future cases.
Justice Nwite then directed Ideho to move the latest application filed.
Moving his fresh amended charge, Ideho said the application was filed on June 13.
“We will like to amend and substitute the charge with the earlier one of May 17, 2024, which was our last amended charge my lord,” he said.
The defendants’ lawyers did not oppose the application.
However, Caleb applied that the court should strike out the two earlier charges that listed his client, Gambaryan, as 2nd defendant, dated March 22 and the amended charge dated May 17.
He said this was so because the name of his client was mentioned in the two charges.
The lawyer equally applied that Gambaryan should be discharged from the dock and from the proceedings in its entirety.
He further applied that the earlier order directing that the service of the charge on Binance be done through Gambaryan be vacated, having been in the court record that the company had appointed a representative .
Justice Nwite, in a ruling, granted the prosecution application for the substitution of the June 13 amended charge for the May 17 one.
The judge, who set aside the earlier order, directing Gambaryan to be served on behalf of the company., discharged him from the dock.