The Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday, discharged 39-year-old American, Tigran Gambaryan, and 37-year-old British-Kenyan, Nadeem Anjarwalla, executives of cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, from a tax evasion case filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on March 22, 2024.
The court dismissed the charges against the executives following the appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa, by Binance, and the submission of a new charge by the FIRS naming Binance as the sole defendant.
Initially, on March 22, 2024, the FIRS initiated legal proceedings against both the cryptocurrency exchange platform and Gambaryan, alleging tax evasion. Later, on May 17, 2024, the FIRS revised its lawsuit, accusing Binance of failing to collect and remit various taxes, including Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT), as required by law.
The Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, stated that Binance, the cryptocurrency trading platform, had a turnover exceeding $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone.
After an agreement between the legal teams on both sides, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned further proceedings to June 14 for the arraignment of Binance and Gambaryan. Counsel for the FIRS, Moses Idehu, confirmed this and requested the court’s permission to replace all previous charges with the newly amended one dated June 13, 2024.
The fresh charges allege that Binance Holdings Ltd., on or about February 1, 2024, in Abuja, FCT, aided and abetted subscribers on its trading platform, Binance, to unlawfully refuse to pay taxes or neglect to pay those taxes, contravening Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act.
These legal developments occur amid a broader crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms in Nigeria, with the government accusing Binance of influencing foreign exchange rates and destabilizing the country’s currency.
Separately, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Binance and its executives over alleged money laundering and foreign exchange contravention.
Justice Nwite ruled that the charges filed on March 22, 2024, and May 17, 2024, be struck out. Further proceedings are scheduled for July 12, where plea and discussions on the involvement of the Nigerian representative in court proceedings will take place.
On February 28, 2024, Nigerian authorities detained Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, senior Binance executives, for several weeks. Nadeem fled from custody.
The Binance executives’ visit to Nigeria followed the Federal Government’s ban on cryptocurrency channels, part of a campaign against currency speculation.
The naira has significantly devalued against the dollar, losing 70% of its value since the implementation of foreign exchange reforms last year, exacerbated by a local dollar shortage.
An official from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) also accused Binance’s Naira P2P feature of destabilizing the country’s exchange rate.
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