Next Monday, a Nigerian judge will hear Binance’s money laundering lawsuit

More than a month ahead of schedule, a Nigerian court will hear a money laundering case against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its officials next week, the prosecutor announced on Monday. The request was made by defense attorneys.

Binance and its officials, Tigan Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen who oversees financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa at the exchange, have been accused of laundering over $35 million.

The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, is also being accused of evading taxes.
Gambaryan and Binance have refuted the accusations. Before the trial began, Anjarwalla fled Nigeria after breaking out of custody.

According to his wife Yuki Gambaryan, Gambaryan has been imprisoned in Nigeria since February, and during that time, his health has declined.

She has requested the U.S. government to assist in securing her husband’s release and has appealed to the Nigerian government to drop the accusations against him on the grounds of his health.

The next court date has been moved from October 11 to September 2.

Since cryptocurrency websites became the go-to venues for trading the Nigerian naira as the nation struggled with ongoing dollar shortages and saw its currency drop to a record low, Nigeria has blamed Binance for its currency’s weakness.

In March, Binance announced that it would cease all naira transactions and trading following a nationwide crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges that the government accused of fueling a foreign exchange illegal market.