The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, refused to grant bail to a top official of Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan, who is currently in prison custody.
The court, in the ruling that was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, said it was not convinced that the defendant, who is facing a five-count money laundering and terrorism financing charge alongside the company, would be available to face his trial once he is released on bail.
According to the court, the defendant, failed to present sufficient materials to sway its discretion in his favour.
Justice Nwite held that based on affidavit evidence that was adduced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, there is the likelihood that the defendant may jump bail.
Consequently, it dismissed the defendant’s application to be granted bail, pending the determination of the case against him.
The court ordered accelerated hearing of the matter.
The EFCC had on April 23, urged the court to allow the Binance official to remain in Kuje prison.
The anti-graft agency maintained that it got a reliable intelligence that plans were afoot for the defendant to escape from custody and flee the country like his colleague.
It told the court that the defendant had attempted to secure a brand new international passport from the embassy of the United States of America.
EFCC further alleged that the defendant is an Armenian citizen by birth, saying there was a clear danger that he would jump bail if released from custody.
The defendant had in an application he filed on April 4 through his team lawyers led by Mr. Mark Mordi, SAN, relied on provisions of sections 157 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, to plead for bail.
He contended that the charge the EFCC preferred against him contained bailable offences, insisting that under the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, he is presumed innocent of the allegations against him.
Mordi, SAN, argued that the prosecution failed to place any evidence before the court to establish that his client posed a flight risk.
“The prosecution has not presented any credible evidence to establish why the defendant should not be granted bail,” the defense lawyer submitted, adding that the claim that his client was planning to escape from the country was based “hearsay, unreliable and inadmissible evidence.”
