Federal government of Nigeria has initiated legal proceedings against Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange platform, for alleged tax evasion.
The charges, formally filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, were announced on Monday by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
In a lawsuit designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, Binance is accused of four counts of tax evasion.
Joining the crypto company as second and third defendants are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently in custody with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges stemmed from an investigation of the company’s Nigerian office for alleged attempts to manipulate Nigeria’s currency.
The government also said Binance had failed to register for tax purposes with authorities.
Binance in the past has denied any wrongdoing in Nigeria. The company did not respond to VOA’s request for comment.
Nigerian authorities on February 26 detained two of the company’s executives — Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and Nadeem Anjawalla, a British Kenyan.
Eze Onyekpere, founder of the Center for Social Justice, said the arrests and charges were largely expected.
“It shouldn’t be surprising that they may have violated Nigerian laws,” Onyekpere said. “Nigeria is not the only country that has been charging the executives with violating their laws. The only reasonable thing to do is to bring them before the court and be given the opportunity to defend themselves. Due process and fair hearing must be followed.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, the office of the national security adviser said Anjawalla had escaped detention.
The security adviser said authorities were working with international police to obtain a warrant for his arrest.
Binance said it was aware one of its officials was no longer in custody.