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By Iheanyi Chukwudi
A cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance has been charged with criminal proceedings by the Federal Government.
The charges were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a lawsuit, designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.
Special Adviser (Media) to the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Dare Adekanbi, who made this known to newsmen on Monday, said it was a four-count tax evasion accusation against Binance.
Joined in the suit as second and third defendants are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In the suit, Binance is charged among other things for 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.
Bianca was also accused by the Federal Government of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.
A count in the charge talks of 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 charges also detailed specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, hence obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.
Adekanmbi stressed that, “Any company that transacts business in excess of N25 million annually is deemed by the Finance Act to be present in Nigeria.
“According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it has to pay taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT) and also collect and pay Value Added Tax (VAT)."
“But Binance did not do this properly. So, the company broke Nigerian laws and could be investigated and taken to court for this infraction."
The Federal Government he said remained resolute in its commitment to ensuring compliance with tax regulations and combating financial impropriety within the cryptocurrency sector.
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