VenturesNow

Tax evasion trial of Binance executives postponed until June 14 by Nigerian court

Published

6 months ago

May 23, 2024

A Nigerian court Wednesday postponed the tax evasion case against Binance until next month, when the cryptocurrency exchange and two of its officials might potentially be charged, according to the judge.

Authorities were unable to bring U.S. citizen and Binance head of financial crime compliance Tigran Gambaryan to court, which caused the case to standstill. Gambaryan did not give a justification for missing the courtroom.

An Abuja court decided on Friday that Gambaryan, representing Binance, may go to trial in the tax evasion case. In May, Binance CEO Richard Teng charged that Nigeria was creating a hazardous precedent when its executives were invited to the nation and subsequently taken into custody as part of an anti-crypto campaign. The business is contesting the proceedings because it is accused of money laundering and tax evasion.

Four charges of tax evasion are brought against Binance and its executives, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan who serves as Binance’s regional manager for Africa. One of the charges is failing to register for taxes with the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria.

Despite Anjarwalla’s March escape from detention, the lawsuit still lists him as “at large,” which might delay the trial because Nigerian law mandates that all parties must be served before the case can move forward, according to Chukwuka Ikwuazom, the attorney for Gambaryan.

Moses Ideho, a revenue service attorney, stated that Gambaryan should have been brought before the court by the Nigerian jail service and that he was unaware of the reason for his absence. The potential arraignment of Binance and Gambaryan has been postponed until June 14 by Judge Emeka Nwite.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, has charged Binance and the executives with laundering over $35 million in addition to the tax evasion case. On Thursday, there will be a money laundering trial. In the wake of Gambaryan’s detention, Binance has declared that it is closely collaborating with Nigerian authorities.

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

55 minutes ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.