There was a mild drama at a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, as detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, who is facing a money laundering charge, slumped in the open court over alleged ill-health.
The development occurred shortly after the matter was called
for trial continuation before Justice Emeka Nwite.
As soon as the case was called by the court registrar,
Gambaryan did not step forward to the dock from the back row seat where he was
seated.
Justice Nwite then asked where the 2nd defendant (Gambaryan)
was and one of the lawyers in the defence team, who sat beside Gambaryan, held
him by the side towards the dock.
As they walked slowly to the dock, Gambaryan fell down and
the lawyer assisted him to sit in the front row seat.
His lawyer, Mark Mordi, SAN, explained to the court why his
client could not stand as soon as the matter was called.
Mordi said Gambaryan had been indisposed and a written
application letter had been filed to notify the court of his failing.
“My lord, the case may not certainly proceed today,” he
said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) observes that throughout
the proceeding, the cryptocurrency firm’s agent rested on the arm of the seat
where he was sitting.
NAN reports that Justice Nwite had, on May 16, dismissed
Gambaryan’s bail application on the ground that the EFCC had been able to
establish that the defendant, who is currently being remanded at Kuje
Correctional Centre, would jump bail if granted.
It would also be recalled that the alleged tax evasion
charge filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) against Binance
Holdings Limited and Gambaryan could not proceed on Wednesday due to his absence
in court
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com