The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will arraign Binance Holdings Limited and its two executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, before the Federal High Court Abuja on April 4.
They were sued on a four-count charge bordering on alleged tax evasion contrary to Nigerian laws.
NewsNGR reports that FIRS had initiated criminal proceedings against Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.
FIRS revealed in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dare Adekanmbi, that the charges levied against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.
“In the suit, the Federal Government 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 statement partly reads.
Their arraignment will most likely be held before Justice Emeka Nwite.
Meanwhile, the two Binance executives have filed a fundamental rights suit against the federal government, alleging their continued detention in Nigeria is unlawful.