Nigeria files tax evasion charges against Binance as detained executive escapes

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in Abuja has commenced legal proceedings against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its detained executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambarya, citing four instances of alleged tax evasion. This announcement was made in a statement released on Monday. This development is occurring against the backdrop of reports indicating that one of the detained Binance executives has left Nigeria.

The allegations leveled against Binance include the non-remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT), Company Income tax (CIT), non-compliance with tax return filing obligations, and facilitating tax evasion for its users. Additionally, the federal government has charged Binance with failure to register for tax purposes with the FIRS and violating the country’s tax laws.

Reports emerged over the weekend that Anjarwalla escaped on Friday from the Abuja guest house where the Binance executives was being held. The two executives had traveled to Nigeria due to a ban imposed on their website in the country. They were however apprehended by officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and had been detained ever since. This was after the Central Bank Governor, Mr Yemi Cardoso stated that about $26 billion flowed through the Binance platform in the last one year.

A Binance spokesperson told CNBC that they were made aware that Anjarwalla was no longer in Nigerian custody. They added, “Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue.”