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EFCC to arraign 2 top officials of Binance Ltd on Thursday

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will, on Thursday, arraign Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, two top officials of Binance Holdings Ltd on five counts of money laundering charge.

It was gathered on Tuesday that Binance, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who escaped from lawful custody on March 22 and fled Nigeria, will be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja.

Although the crypto exchange firm, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla are listed as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively, Anjarwalla, who is described to be “at large” by the EFCC in the counts, is expected to be arraigned in absentia.

In the charge dated and filed on March 28 by the anti-graft agency, the trio is being accused of money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000.

Count one accused the defendants between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja of carrying on specialised business of other financial institution without valid licence.

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial, Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.

NAN had, on March 28, also reported that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will, on April 4, arraigned Binance Holdings Limited, Gambaryan and fleeing Anjarwalla, on allegations bordering on tax evasion.

In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, the three defendants will equally be arraigned before Justice Nwite on four counts.

NAN reports that though the FHC’s Easter vacation, which began on March 22, will come to an end on April 8, the Chief Judge of FHC, Justice John Tsoho, directed the transfer of Binance case file to Justice Nwite, even though he is not a vacation judge.

The chief judge granted the fiat for the judge to handle the case during vacation being a matter that concerns dire national interest.

In the charge dated and filed March 22 by the FIRS, the defendants were alleged to have committed the offence on or about Feb. 1.

Count one alleged that while involved in carrying and offering services to subscribers on their platform, known as Binance, failed to register with the FIRS, for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.

The offences are said to be punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the VAT Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended) respectively.

The two cases were fixed for Thursday to allow for accelerated hearing.

NAN had, on March 18, reported that Justice Nwite ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the EFCC with the comprehensive data or information of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

The judge granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.

The interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance platform.

The commission said it uncovered users who had been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation and market manipulation which had caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its values against other currencies.

The EFCC said that from the information afforded to its team of Investigators by Binance showed that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at 21.6 billion dollars .

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Lagos-Calabar coastal project: Landmark commences refunds to customers

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The management of Landmark Resort Beach said it has commenced the refund process for customers affected by the recent demolition of portions of its properties by the Federal Government.

Landmark Africa, the parent company of Landmark Resort, made this known on Friday in a post on its X handle.

The firm acknowledged the patience of their customers, advising that completion of the refund process may be delayed due to the volume of requests.

t said: “Dear Landmark Citizens, we would like to assure you all that we have started issuing refunds to those who requested a refund of their money on the Landmark Citizen App.

“Please be patient with us, due to the volume of requests, this process will take some time. Be rest assured that all refund requests will be processed. Thank you all for your support and patience.

A portion of Landmark Beach on Victoria Island, Lagos, was recently demolished to accommodate the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

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NiMet forecasts 3-day sunny, cloudy atmosphere conditions

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The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudiness and sunshine from Friday to Sunday across the nation.

NiMet weather outlook released on Thursday in Abuja forecast sunny skies in hazy atmosphere on Friday over the northern region with exception of Taraba state where pockets of clouds could be visible during the forecast period.

According to the agency, sunny atmosphere patches of clouds are anticipated over the North Central region during the forecast period.

“The Cloudy atmosphere is expected over the southern region with prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

The agency said later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Delta, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Abia and Imo states.

NiMet predicted sunny skies in a hazy atmosphere on Saturday over the northern region with prospects of afternoon and evening thunderstorms over parts of Kaduna state.

It anticipated sunny skies with patches of clouds over the North Central region during the morning period.

“Later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kogi and Plateau states.

“Cloudy atmosphere with intervals of sunshine is expected over the southern region with prospects of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states in the morning hours.

“Later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over the region,” it said.

According to NiMet, sunny skies in hazy atmosphere are expected over the northern region during the forecast period on Sunday.

The agency predicted sunny atmosphere with patches of clouds over the North Central region during the morning period.

NiMet forecast isolated thunderstorms over parts of Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory later in the day.

NiMet predicted Cloudy atmosphere over the southern region with prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

It anticipated isolated thunderstorms over parts of Edo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Imo, Ekiti, Abia, Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Lagos states later in the day.

“Strong winds may precede rains in the areas where thunderstorms are likely to occur, the public should take adequate precaution.

“Airline operators are advised to get updated weather reports and forecasts from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.

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Nigeria accedes to Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Devt agreement

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Nigeria has become the latest signatory to the Establishment Agreement of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the development impact-oriented subsidiary of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

This is contained in a statement signed by Vincent Musumba, Manager, Media Relations, Afreximbank, in Abuja on Friday.

Musumba said Nigeria joined the ranks of countries acceding to the Establishment Agreement of FEDA, becoming the 16th nation to do so.

He said this underscored the increasing backing the Fund enjoyed among African nations.

“This announcement comes three decades following Afreximbank’s establishment in Nigeria, a key milestone that boldly demonstrates Nigeria’s continued commitment to supporting Afreximbank and FEDA’s missions.

“ FEDA sees new memberships as critical to broadening its scope of interventions and its mission of delivering long-term capital to African economies, with a focus on industrialisation, intra-African trade and value-added exports.”

Musumba said the signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement was expected to pave the way for the ratification of the agreement in due course.

“This will in turn bolster FEDA’s interventions in Nigeria.”

He quoted Prof. Benedict Oramah, President, Afreximbank and Chairman of the Boards of both Afreximbank and FEDA, as saying: ”we extend our sincere appreciation to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement.

“This significant achievement further strengthens the already robust partnership between Afreximbank and Nigeria, one of the bank’s foremost supporters.

“The partnership will enhance investments in sectors critical to the development journey of Nigeria.”

Musumba said FEDA is the impact investment subsidiary of Afreximbank set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa.

He said other countries who had acceded to FEDA’s Establishment Agreement included Rwanda, Mauritania, Guinea, Togo, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

Musumba said others are Kenya, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Egypt.

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