Binance accused of tax evasion by the Nigerian Government

Nigeria’s federal government accused one of the main cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, of tax evasion on March 25 in the country’s High Court, according to information published by the Punch newspaper.

According to the accusations of the Federal Revenue Service of Nigeria included in the process, four accusations of tax evasion are brought against the platform, namely: non-payment of value added tax, non-payment of income tax, non-submission of tax returns, as well as such as, complicity to help customers avoid taxes through the platform.

Furthermore, the document argued that Binance did not register with the FIRS for tax purposes and violated tax regulations.

Binance’s two top executives, Tigran Gambaryan, responsible for overseeing financial crimes enforcement, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, regional manager for Africa, were arrested in Nigeria in February and named defendants in the recent case.

It is worth remembering that, this month, the fight between Binance and the Nigerian government was intensified in yet another chapter of this recent “arm fight” after Nigeria recently requested the list of Binance users. Nigeria wants the Binance exchange to provide information regarding its top 100 users residing in the country, as well as their entire transaction history for the last six months.

It is worth noting that, given this scenario, at the beginning of March, Binance, recognized as the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, announced its decision to withdraw from the Nigerian market. The measure involved the discontinuation of all services related to the local currency, the Nigerian Naira (NGN), marking a significant moment for both the company and local users.

Proposed 400% increase in registration fees for crypto companies in Nigeria; Details

In light of the crackdown on the cryptocurrency sector in Nigeria, the country’s securities watchdog has come up with a proposal to increase registration fees for cryptocurrency companies by 400%, as highlighted in a recently published notice.

The proposal made by the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, includes changes related to rules for cryptocurrency issuers, exchanges and custody platforms with increases in supervisory fees.

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