The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to order Binance Holdings Limited to pay the sum of $79,514,055,594.40 and 231 million naira for economic losses allegedly caused by its operations in Nigeria, as well as $2,001,000,000 in income tax for 2022 and 2023.
The monetary demands and alleged liabilities include a 10% penalty for non-payment of income tax for 2022 and 2023, a 26.75% interest rate, being the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, lending rate per annum from January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, respectively, among other charges.
However the legal team of Binance and its executives were absent at the proceedings.
But counsel for the government, kanu Agabi informed the court that attempts to serve Binance directly has been unsuccessful, and he has filed a motion for substituted service on February 7, 2025.
Justice Ekwo granted the request, ordering that the substituted service be carried out within seven days, and then adjourned to March 3, 2025, for mention.
Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, is accused of failing to register with the FIRS for tax compliance and causing economic losses to the country during the period under review.
The lawsuit alleges that Binance deliberately shrouded its business activities in secrecy despite having a “significant economic presence” in Nigeria.
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It therefore breaches Nigeria’s Companies Income Tax (CIT) Act, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007, the CBN Regulatory Framework for Mobile Money Services, and the CIT Significant Economic Presence (SEP) Order.
The SEP Order gazetted by the federal government in May 2020 among others stipulates that a foreign company has a significant economic presence in Nigeria if it derives an annual gross turnover of at least N25 million or its equivalent in other currencies from digital activities, among other criteria.
This suit is the third against Binance’s cryptocurrency activities, which have been widely patronized by Nigerians.
The federal government discovered that Binance had been operating in Nigeria for over six years without registration.
The affidavit accuses Binance and its executives of multiple infractions.
However, further investigations by the NSA found that Binance “lied” about this claim, as the Naira was still accessible on its platform at the time, the official stated.
The NSA also claimed that it repeatedly demanded Binance to supply records of its business activities over six years, but the company allegedly refused to comply.
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
