Executives From Binance Sue NSA Ribadu And EFCC To Court

TIGRAN Gambaryan, an executive at Binance, has filed a lawsuit against the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, claiming that his fundamental rights have been violated.

Presented by his attorney Olujoke Aliyu of Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan filed a March 18 motion for redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, offering five reliefs.

In a similar vein, Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Binance in Africa, filed a separate lawsuit before Justice Ekwo after he escaped from detention on March 22.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Gambaryan and Anjarwalla sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and the EFCC as first and second respondents in the cases with the filing numbers FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24.

The crypto exchange platform's Gambaryan, a US citizen in charge of financial crime compliance, claimed that his detention and the seizure of his passport for international travel violated Sections 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, which in turn violated his fundamental right to personal liberty.

In addition, he asked the court to grant him instant freedom and passport return. He also asked for fees to be reimbursed to the respondents and an order to stop any further detention in connection with any Binance investigations.

According to Gambaryan, he accepted invites from ONSA and EFCC to travel to Nigeria on February 26 with Nadeem Anjarwalla, who was representing Binance. Both were held after the meeting without official charges, even though they had attended as requested.

Anjarwalla and Gambaryan's attorney, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, informed the court at the hearing that the respondents had not shown up even though they had been served. Krukrubo also cited their March 26 notification of withdrawal of Anjarwalla's legal representation.

A hearing was postponed until April 8 to give the applicants time to find new counsel and give the respondents a chance to react. Justice Ekwo took notice of the withdrawal of legal representation.

The EFCC and ONSA had time to react, according to Krukrubo, even though Gambaryan's case was served. The deadline for the replies to submit their applications was set to end the following week, and he asked an adjournment.

As a result, in order to proceed with the proceedings, Justice Ekwo set the next hearing for April 8.

In the meantime, on April 4, the Federal Government is set to charge Tigran Gambaryan, the company's top executive, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the wanted man, with tax evasion-related offenses.

It is anticipated that Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla—who are numbered as the first, third, and first defendants, respectively—will be charged with four felonies at a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja by Justice Emeka Nwite.

It was reported that Anjarwalla had escaped from official custody when she was being held with Gambaryan. He and his companion were being held in the guest house in Abuja when he made his getaway on Friday.