- The gridlock in the FIRS’ tax evasion case against Binance continues.
- Procedural failures from prosecutors continue to frustrate the defense.
- The exchange faces a four-count charge.
Over the past year, tensions have rapidly risen between the Nigerian government and Binance, culminating in charges of tax evasion and money laundering and the extended detention of the exchange’s chief financial crime compliance officer, Tigran Gambaryan.
While proceedings in the money laundering case brought by the country’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have begun in earnest, the tax evasion case brought by the country’s tax authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), continues to stall due to several procedural fumbles.
Binance Tax Evasion Case Delayed Again
The gridlock in the FIRS’ tax evasion case against Binance continues. After several procedural days, on Friday, October 11, the FIRS was supposed to arraign the exchange on the charges finally, but once again, no progress was made.
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In proceedings observed by my colleague DailyCoin reporter Grace Abidemi, the defense, represented by Chukwuka Ikuazom, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and Elizabeth Tijani, both of Aluko and Oyebode, argued that the prosecution had yet to provide documents critical to the defense despite a pending request since October 9. The prosecution added these documents to augment their evidence list.
However, the prosecution, led by Moses Ideho, contended that they had not received the defense’s request.
Amid the dispute, Nigeria Federal High Court Judge Justice Emeka Nwite was forced to adjourn proceedings to November 7.
A Four-Count Charge
The FIRS filed its case against Binance in March 2024, accusing the exchange of four counts of tax evasion. The charges include “non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.”
The FIRS justified the charges at the time by arguing that Binance’s volume of business in Nigeria made it liable to the country’s tax rules.
"Any company that transacts business in excess of N25 million annually is deemed by the Finance Act to be present in Nigeria. According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it has to pay taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT) and also collect and pay Value Added Tax (VAT). But Binance did not do this properly," FIRS Chair Dare Adekanmbi had asserted.
According to Nigerian central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso, $26 billion had passed through the exchange in 2023 alone.
On the Flipside
- Binance faces a separate money laundering lawsuit from Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
- The tax evasion case initially named the exchange’s chief financial crime compliance officer, Tigran Gambaryan, and its regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, as second and third defendants, respectively. Charges against both men have since been dropped following the exchange’s decision to appoint an agent in the country.
Why This Matters
Nigeria’s case against Binance has thrown the crypto scene into uncertainty, which continues to linger with each delay.
Read this for more on Binance’s tax evasion case in Nigeria:
Nigeria Broadens Binance Crackdown with Tax Evasion Charges
Stay up to date with the latest in the Tigran Gambaryan detention saga:
UPDATED: Gambaryan’s Bail Denied Again, Fate Left To Unreliable Prison Officials
