According to a local media report, the Nigerian federal government has escalated its legal confrontation with Binance and has accused the cryptocurrency exchange of tax evasion.
The government reportedly levelled a four-count allegation against Binance, including charges of Value-Added Tax (VAT) non-payment, complicity in facilitating tax evasion by its users, failure to pay Company Income Tax, and neglecting to file tax returns. Binance was accused of negligence in collecting and remitting various taxes to the government, a violation purportedly outlined in Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007.
Additionally, authorities have accused the exchange of involvement in laundering billions of dollars in illicit funds and manipulating the exchange rate of the Nigerian naira against the dollar.
These charges were formally filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, March 25, 2024. Notably, two top Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
This legal clash comes on the heels of recent events where Nigerian authorities detained the aforementioned Binance executives upon their arrival in the country.
Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, one of the detained executives has escaped custody and fled the country. Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson, confirmed the absence of Anjarwalla in the nation’s custody to Bloomberg on Monday.
Another spokesperson revealed to Bloomberg that Binance was notified of Anjarwalla’s absence from Nigerian custody while responding to inquiries.
Per the report from another local media, Anjarwalla escaped on Friday after guards led him to a mosque for Muslim prayers from the guest house, where they were detained.
The accusations against Binance have sparked concerns about the exchange’s impact on the nation’s economy. Olayemi Cardoso, the nation’s Central Bank Governor, in February 2024, reportedly claimed that Binance processed over $26 billion worth of untraceable transactions.
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