The Federal Government has initiated proceedings against Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform over tax evasion, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The charges filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, implicated Binance with four tax evasion accusations adding that it was a decisive move aimed at upholding fiscal responsibility and safeguarding the economic integrity of the country.
Other defendants in the suit as second and third accused persons in the suit are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance.
The charges against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.
This was contained in a statement issued by
the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Executive Chairman, Dare Adekanmbi on Monday.
According to the statement, the Federal Government in the suit also accused Binance of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.
One of the counts in the lawsuit pertains to Binance’s alleged failure to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.
Section 40 of the Act explicitly addresses the non-deduction and non-remittance of taxes, prescribing penalties and potential imprisonment for defaulting entities.
The charges further detail specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, thus obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.
According to Adekanbi, “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”.
As at the time of filing this report, Office of the National Security Adviser had confirmed that one of the two Binance executives named as defendant in the tax evasion suit, Nadeem Anjarwalla, escaped from lawful Custody.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
