Court admits FIRS documents allegedly confirming cryptocurrency platform’s financial transactions in Nigeria: The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted documents from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) allegedly confirming its probe and report on Binance’s volume of financial transactions related to its operations in Nigeria.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, admitted the documents into evidence following submissions by the FIRS lawyer, Moses Idehu.
Gistblogbase previously reported that on May 17, 2024, the FIRS amended its lawsuit, stating that Binance allegedly failed to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT), as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 (as amended).
This followed a notice from Binance regarding its appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa.
The Binance representative in court denied the tax evasion allegations, paving the way for the trial.
Court Proceedings
- At the resumed proceedings on Friday, Muftau Abdukarim, Assistant Director of the Government Business Task Office at FIRS, told the judge that he received a memo from the FIRS Litigation and Prosecution Department on March 12, 2024, instructing his department to investigate Binance Holdings Limited.
“Upon receiving the memo, I minuted it immediately to one of my subordinates, Omoshola Babafemi, to carry out the investigation,” he said.
- The witness explained that on March 19, 2024, Babafemi conducted a tax investigation on Binance through TaxPro Max—a software application used by FIRS to research companies registered in Nigeria.
“My staff got back to me via a memo to convey their findings.
“On March 19, 2024, I wrote a memo to the FIRS Litigation and Prosecution Department to communicate our findings,” he added, while openly identifying the related internal memos.
“Sequel to your memo dated March 12, 2024, our office has conducted a comprehensive search on the TaxPro Max platform regarding Binance Holdings Ltd, as requested, and we hereby forward the report of our findings for your information.
“Please find attached the report as received from the scheduled officer assigned to confirm the compliance status of Binance Holdings Ltd concerning their operations in Nigeria.”
- Binance’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazom (SAN), did not oppose the FIRS lawyer’s request to admit the documents into evidence and did not cross-examine the witness.
- Justice Emeka Nwite subsequently admitted the documents into evidence and adjourned the case to May 20, 2025.
Backstory
The Federal Government had earlier accused Binance of influencing foreign exchange (FX) rates, leading to stricter legal oversight of cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, stated that Binance had a turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone.
On February 28, 2024, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives.
As a result, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and FIRS separately sued Binance over alleged tax evasion, money laundering, and FX violations.
- The executives were held for several months, but Anjarwalla escaped custody.
- Gambaryan was eventually discharged by the EFCC due to health concerns and diplomatic intervention.
Gistblogbase also reports that FIRS sued Binance before another judge, demanding $79,514,055,594.40 and ₦231 million for alleged economic losses caused by its operations in Nigeria, in addition to $2,001,000,000 in income tax for 2022 and 2023.
