Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, Mr Tigran Gambaryan, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Mr Gambaryan was brought to the court today for trial over allegations of tax evasion and others in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.
The cryptocurrency exchange platform’s employee was detained by the local authorities on February 26, 2024, alongside his colleague, Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled the country last month.
The Nigerian government has now contacted Interpol to bring him back into the country to face trial with Mr Gambaryan.
The government accused the company of not paying taxes, particularly Value-Added Tax (VAT) charged at 7.5 per cent.
A few days ago, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) accused Binance of evading tax as required by the country’s law, particularly a part of the Finance Act, which states that, “Any company that conducts business exceeding N25 million annually is deemed, by the Finance Act, to be present in Nigeria.”
“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.
Mr Gambaryan, an American national, is the Head of Investigations at Binance
