BINANCE: Court admits FIRS documents allegedly confirming cryptocurrency platform’s financial transactions in Nigeria

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, admitted the documents into evidence following submissions by the FIRS lawyer, Moses Idehu. 

Naijaonpoint previously reported that on May 17, 2024, the FIRS amended its lawsuit, stating that Binance allegedly failed to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT), as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 (as amended). 

In the charge, Binance was accused of offering services—including the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, as well as the remittance and transfer of such assets—to Nigerians, while failing to deduct the required VAT arising from its operations. 

Amid the case, on June 14, 2024, the court discharged Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American, and the fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla from the FIRS tax evasion case against Binance. 

This followed a notice from Binance regarding its appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa. 

The Binance representative in court denied the tax evasion allegations, paving the way for the trial. 

“Upon receiving the memo, I minuted it immediately to one of my subordinates, Omoshola Babafemi, to carry out the investigation,” he said. 

“My staff got back to me via a memo to convey their findings. 

“On March 19, 2024, I wrote a memo to the FIRS Litigation and Prosecution Department to communicate our findings,” he added, while openly identifying the related internal memos. 

Following this, FIRS lawyer Moses Idehu orally urged the court to admit the documents detailing its investigation and findings on Binance’s alleged financial transactions in Nigeria. 

The memos, exclusively seen by Naijaonpoint, partly read: 

 “I have been assigned by the Head of the Criminal Prosecution Division (FIRS) to coordinate the investigation on this matter and also request your office to generate bank transaction records of Binance Holdings Ltd, showing the volume of their financial transactions related to their operations in Nigeria in a comprehensive report.   

 “Sequel to your memo dated March 12, 2024, our office has conducted a comprehensive search on the TaxPro Max platform regarding Binance Holdings Ltd, as requested, and we hereby forward the report of our findings for your information.   

 “Please find attached the report as received from the scheduled officer assigned to confirm the compliance status of Binance Holdings Ltd concerning their operations in Nigeria.” 

The Federal Government had earlier accused Binance of influencing foreign exchange (FX) rates, leading to stricter legal oversight of cryptocurrency trading platforms. 

The Federal Government had earlier accused Binance of influencing foreign exchange (FX) rates, leading to stricter legal oversight of cryptocurrency trading platforms. 

Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, stated that Binance had a turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone. 

On February 28, 2024, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives. 

As a result, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and FIRS separately sued Binance over alleged tax evasion, money laundering, and FX violations. 

The executives were held for several months, but Anjarwalla escaped custody. 

Gambaryan was eventually discharged by the EFCC due to health concerns and diplomatic intervention. 

Naijaonpoint also reports that FIRS sued Binance before another judge, demanding $79,514,055,594.40 and ₦231 million for alleged economic losses caused by its operations in Nigeria, in addition to $2,001,000,000 in income tax for 2022 and 2023.