Dipo Olowookere
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A tax evasion suit has been filed against a cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, by the Nigerian government at a Federal High Court in Abuja.
This information was disclosed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Monday weeks after the government detained two representatives of the foreign company.
Business Post reports that the tax collecting agency in the country disclosed that the government filed a four-count tax evasion suit against the firm in the matter marked Designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024 at the court.
It alleged that Binance violated tax laws, such as the failure to issue invoices for Value-Added Tax (VAT) purposes, thereby impeding the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.
The Nigerian authorities further said the crypto company failed to pay VAT and Company Income Tax (CIT) to the country and also did not file tax returns, and aided customers in evading taxes through its platform.
“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.
Recall that last week, this newspaper reported that the wives of the detained officers of the company pleaded with the government to release their husbands, Mr Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen, and Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national, from custody.
“Tigran was only supposed to be away from us for a very short trip and now over 3 weeks later we have no idea when we will see him again.
“I don’t know what to tell our two children who rush to the door every time they hear a car, eagerly hoping that their father has finally returned from a very long work trip.
“Tigran is globally recognized for his work in law enforcement and many of his peers would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts are what keep cryptocurrencies safe and clean.
“Please let him come home to continue this good work. The longer that our husbands are away from our families, the harder it is becoming for us to go about our daily lives.
“We are asking you from the bottom of our hearts and with the deepest respect that you please release them so that our families can be complete once again,” Mrs Yuki Gambaryan pleaded.
