A Federal High Court in Abuja has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Head of the Legal Services Department of the apex bank to appear in court on Monday, September 2, 2024. The summons is connected to a money laundering case involving Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives.
The court’s directive requires the CBN officials to bring specific documents related to the ongoing trial, which was initially scheduled for October 11 but was moved forward after a request from the defense counsel. Justice Emeka Nwite, who presides over the case, granted the new trial date.
The charges, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accuse Binance USA’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, of money laundering involving $35 million.
Both executives were detained by Nigerian authorities, though Anjarwalla managed to escape custody on March 22, 2024. Meanwhile, Gambaryan remains detained at the Kuje Correctional Facility after being transferred from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and later from EFCC custody.
The court issued a Subpoena Duces Tecum with the charge number FHC/ABCR/138/2024, directing the CBN Governor and the Head of Legal Services to produce specific documents.
The subpoena specifically requests the “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 1 June 2024 to 16 August 2024.”
The court order explicitly commands the CBN officials to attend the court session in person or delegate an officer to do so.
“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,” the court order states.