FIRS has dragged Binance to court and demanded alleged economic losses of $79.51B.
Nigeria News Nalin The report said the federal government filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange, Binance Holdings Limited, through the Federal Inland Tax Services (FIRS), demanding $79.51 billion and $231 million in compensation for the economy allegedly caused by its operations in the country. loss.
The Nigerian news platform learned that the lawsuit filed by the Federal Inland Tax Services Agency (FIR) in the Federal High Court in Abuja also sought unpaid unpaid income tax in 2022 and 2023.
The case is tagged FHC/ABJ/CS/1444/2024, accusing Binance and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, of failing to register for tax compliance on FIRS and allegedly violating Nigerian financial regulations.
The lawsuit marks a third legal action against binance in Nigeria. The FIR and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have accused the company of tax evasion, money laundering and foreign exchange violations before the Federal High Court Justice Judicial Emeka Nwite in Abuja.
Among the economic fines in the lawsuit, the penalty for non-tax payments in 2022 and 2023 is 10% based on the interest rate on the Nigerian Central Bank (CBN) loans, and the annual interest rate is 26.75%. Its business activities in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government further claimed that the country had been in operation for more than six years and had no proper registration, violating multiple financial laws.
According to Jimada Yusuf’s affidavit, a member of the Special Investigation Team of the Office of National Security Advisors (NSA), Binance executives acknowledged that they have 386,256 active Nigerian users, with transaction volume of $21.6 billion in 2023 and net revenue of $35.4. Millions traded in Nigeria.
The NSA claims that Binance refused to provide detailed business records within six years, despite a federal high court order directing them to disclose data through the EFCC.
In the lawsuit, FIRS is seeking to declare that Binance must pay annual corporate income tax for its operations in Nigeria, and a court order forces second-hand bonds and its executives to file income tax returns for 2022 and 2023 and pay Binance $200.1 billion In taxes.
Also included are fines, including 10% and 26.75% annual CBN loan rates until all taxes are paid, totaling $79.51 billion and $231 million in compensation for economic losses.
