The Federal High Court Abuja has fixed November 12, 2025, to rule on Binance Holdings Limited’s request to set aside what the cryptocurrency exchange platform describes as the alleged “purported substituted service” of the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s $81 billion economic loss fine and unpaid income tax suit against it.

Justice Umar Mohammed fixed the date after hearing arguments from Chukwuka Ikwuazom SAN, counsel for Binance, and the FIRS lawyer, S.E. Maliki.

Naijaonpoint previously reported that the Federal Government (FG), through the FIRS, had asked the court to order Binance Holdings Limited to pay $79,514,055,594.40 and N231 million for economic losses allegedly caused by its operations in Nigeria, as well as $2,001,000,000 in income tax for 2022 and 2023.

These monetary demands and alleged liabilities, previously reported by Naijaonpoint, include:

In the FIRS case filed by Kanu Agabi SAN, Binance, along with two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, are accused of contravening Nigerian laws by 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 concealed its business activities despite having a “significant economic presence” in Nigeria.

Agabi informed the court that attempts to serve Binance directly had been unsuccessful, prompting him to file a motion for substituted service.

Substituted service is a legal procedure that allows court documents to be delivered through alternative means when direct service fails.

Justice Ekwo had granted the request and ordered that the substituted service be carried out within seven days.

Amid the court proceedings on Monday, Ikwuazom filed his motion to set aside the substituted service.

He argued in his motion that substituted service of a process on a defendant outside jurisdiction can only be made where the government or a court of the foreign country the process was intended to be served certifies to the Court that the efforts made to serve the process have failed.

He urged the court to hold that the order for substituted service and the substituted service of the originating processes on the (Binance) Applicant are invalid and liable to be set aside.

He explained that the email address [email protected] which the FIRS provided in its application for substituted service and to which the Court ordered that the Originating Processes be sent by way of substituted service on the Applicant does not belong to Eleanor Hughes or any other employee or officer of Binance.

The judge subsequently adjourned the matter, directing the FIRS to file its response to the motion.

In response, FIRS filed a counter-affidavit on April 14, arguing that Binance’s claims were false and misleading.

Litigation officer Ishaya Isuwa stated that the cryptocurrency firm’s actual registration status is unclear, as Binance has no registered office in the Cayman Islands but maintains significant economic activity in Nigeria.

FIRS further maintained that Binance operates globally through an online platform, facilitating cryptocurrency transactions within Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

Isuwa also dismissed Binance’s assertion regarding substituted service, stating that Eleanor Hughes, whose email was used, is Binance’s General Counsel and principal officer, who has previously engaged Nigerian authorities on legal matters.

At the resumed proceedings, Binance’s counsel, Ikwuazom, urged the court to uphold his application and set aside the ex parte order on substituted service issued by the court.

The pending ruling on this dispute will clear the air on what constitutes proper substituted service, particularly against a foreign entity operating in Nigeria.

Naijaonpoint also reports that Binance faces separate charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and foreign exchange violations before Justice Emeka Nwite, in a case brought by both the FIRS and the EFCC.

Binance has denied all charges.

As these legal battles unfold, all eyes remain on the courts to determine the outcome of the FG’s charges against Binance.

Meanwhile, several other countries, including the United States, have also imposed fines on Binance for regulatory infractions.