BREAKING: FG files tax evasion accusations against Binance

In response to tax evasion, the Federal Government filed formal charges against Binance, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange site, on Monday.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service brought the accusations before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In the lawsuit with the case number: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, FIRS accused Binance of four counts of tax evasion and stated that it was a decisive action meant to preserve fiscal responsibility and protect the nation’s economic integrity.

Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance who are now in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, have joined the cryptocurrency company as second and third defendants in the lawsuit.

Binance is facing charges related to not paying Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, not filing tax filings, and assisting clients in avoiding taxes by using its platform.

The Federal Government also charged Binance in the lawsuit with breaking national tax laws and failing to register with FIRS for tax purposes.

Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended stipulates that Binance must collect and pay certain sorts of taxes to the federation. This is one of the claims in the case.

The Act’s Section 40 specifically addresses the failure to deduct and remit taxes, imposing fines and possibly even jail time on noncompliant corporations.

The charges go on to describe particular incidents in which Binance is alleged to have broken tax rules, including neglecting to provide invoices for value-added tax purposes, which hindered subscribers’ ability to calculate and pay their taxes.

“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,” Adekanmbi said.

According to the statute that established it and other legislation, FIRS is able to evaluate, gather, and record revenue that belongs to the Federation as well as manage the applicable tax regulations.

In late 2023, Binance entered a guilty plea to breaking US anti-money laundering regulations, agreeing to a plea deal that would have cost the business $4.3 billion.