The Nigerian Federal Government has accused cryptocurrency company Binance of evading taxes.
The charges were brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, March 25, 2024, by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The FIRS announced this in a statement on Monday, stating that the goal is to promote financial responsibility and protect the country’s economic integrity.
Binance is facing a lawsuit for four counts of tax evasion.
Additionally, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, senior executives of Binance, are named as the second and third defendants in the case. They are currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The allegations against Binance include failure to pay Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to submit tax returns, and assisting customers in evading taxes through its platform.
The Federal Government has accused Binance of not registering with FIRS for tax purposes and breaking tax regulations in the country.
According to FIRS, Binance allegedly did not collect and submit different types of taxes to the Nigerian government as required by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.
The charges specify situations where Binance supposedly broke tax laws, like not providing invoices for VAT purposes, which made it difficult for subscribers to calculate and pay taxes.
“Any company that conducts business exceeding N25 million annually is deemed, by the Finance Act, to be present in Nigeria,” the FIRS noted in a statement.
“According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it is obligated to pay taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT) and also collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT). However, Binance did not adhere to these requirements, thus violating Nigerian laws and potentially facing investigation and legal action for this infraction,” it added.
