- Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange facing legal action from the Nigerian government, has been scheduled for trial on October 11, 2024, by a High Court in Abuja over tax evasion charges.
- This follows a court hearing where Binance, through its representative, pleaded not guilty to four counts of tax evasion before Judge Emeka Nwite.
- The trial was scheduled four weeks after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) dropped tax charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, following the exchange's provision of Ayodele Omotilewa as its representative.
Consequetly, a new charge was filed, naming the exchange as the only defendant.
Before Binance provided a representative, Gambaryan, who is still detained, failed to appear in court in May 2024 for an arraignment on the charges. The defendant and the prosecutor claimed they were unaware of his whereabouts and blamed the correctional facility where he is detained for failing to bring him. However, he is no longer named in the case.
Moreover, while the Binance executives are no longer named in the tax evasion charges, they are still tagged in money laundering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
During the recent court hearing, Omotilewa urged the judge to dismiss all charges, just as the charges against the executives were dropped. The representative argued that the case needs more substance.
After hearing the arguments, the judge decided to adjourn the case until October 2024. This decision allows more time for deliberation and review of the evidence presented. It also gives both parties additional time to prepare their respective cases.
The four counts of tax evasion filed against the exchange by the tax authority in March 2024 claim that the exchange failed to pay company income tax, failed to pay value-added tax (VAT), did not comply with tax return filing obligations, and was complicit in assisting its users in evading taxes through its platform.
Among these, the government also alleged that Binance failed to register with the authorities for tax purposes.
In other news, another global crypto exchange serving users from Nigeria, KuCoin recently started charging a value-added tax (VAT) of 7.5% on crypto trades on its platform in addition to a transaction charge of 0.1% of the transaction. It stated that the VAT addition is a regulatory update in Nigeria and will be applied to all kinds of transactions, from transfers to trades.
