By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA (Reuters) – A Nigerian court on Tuesday adjourned a money laundering trial against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives to Oct. 11 because a court-ordered medical report for one of the defendants was not submitted as evidence.
Binance and executives Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crimes compliance, and British-Kenyan national Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa, have been charged with laundering more than $35 million and engaging in specialised financial activities without a licence.
The exchange also faces a separate four counts of tax evasion. They have all pleaded not guilty to the all the charges.
Gambaryan appeared in court in a wheelchair on Tuesday. His case has been stalled since May because he was not well enough to stand trial. Binance has previously said Gambaryan had malaria and pneumonia.
Trial Judge Emeka Nwite expressed frustration with an ongoing dispute over Gambaryan’s medical records. The court had previously ordered the documents released from the hospital where he was treated, but the facility’s director has not complied.
Judge Nwite issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the hospital’s medical director, demanding their presence at the next hearing. He also ordered Gambaryan to be admitted to the hospital for 24 hours “for emphasis” and proper treatment.
Last month, two U.S. lawmakers urged the United States embassy in Nigeria to seek the release of Gambaryan, who has been in detention since February, on humanitarian grounds due to his poor health.
Binance had no immediate comment but it is contesting the charges.
Nigeria blamed Binance for its currency woes after cryptocurrency websites became the platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian naira as the country grappled with chronic dollar shortages and the currency fell to a record low.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Chris Reese)
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