FG Drags Binance To Court Over Tax Evasion

A tax evasion charge was on Monday initiated by the Federal Government against against Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service filed the charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Binance was implicated by FIRS with four tax evasion accusations in the suit with number: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.

FIRS added that it was a decisive move aimed at upholding fiscal responsibility and safeguarding the economic integrity of the country.

Joined in the suit as second and third defendants are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The charges levied against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.

Binance was also accused by the Federal Government of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.

One of the counts in the lawsuit pertains to Binance’s alleged failure to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.

The charges further detail specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, thus obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.

“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. So, the company broke Nigerian laws and could be investigated and taken to court for this infraction.”