Nigeria Expands Legal Battle Against Binance With $79.5 Billion Tax And Economic Loss Claim
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has escalated its legal action against Binance, demanding $79.5 billion in economic losses alongside over $2 billion in unpaid taxes plus accrued interest, according to court documents cited by Reuters.
This claim significantly surpasses the initial $10 billion figure that Nigerian authorities initially pursued. The government had accused the cryptocurrency exchange of facilitating the movement of $26 billion in untraceable funds out of the country, exacerbating Nigeria’s foreign exchange crisis at a time when it sought to curb capital outflows.
FIRS contends that Binance holds a “significant economic presence” in Nigeria, making it subject to corporate income tax obligations. While Binance has yet to publicly respond to these allegations, the lawsuit marks a continuation of Nigeria’s broader crackdown on the exchange, which began last year.
The legal dispute intensified in February when Nigerian authorities detained two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, on charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Anjarwalla later escaped custody, leading to Gambaryan’s subsequent release. However, Binance remains entangled in ongoing money laundering charges brought by Nigerian regulators.
As regulatory scrutiny on cryptocurrency exchanges tightens in Nigeria, this case underscores the country’s aggressive stance on enforcing financial compliance and curbing illicit capital movement within its digital economy.
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