The Nigerian government took its beef with the cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, to another level on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Nigerian authorities are seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5 billion for economic losses, which it says were caused by its unlawful operations in the country and $2 billion in back taxes.
According to court documents, Nigeria blames Binance for its currency troubles and detained two executives in 2024 after the platform emerged as the choice destination for naira trading.
Binance has previously disclosed that it was working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve historical tax liabilities.
The tax authority alleged in the court documents that Binance has an enormous economic presence in Nigeria and is liable for corporate tax.
The service said it is seeking a court declaration that the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023 and a 10% annual penalty in unpaid amounts.
Reuters reports that the FIRS requests a 26.75% interest rate on unpaid taxes, based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s lending rate.
The platform was already accused of tax evasion in Nigeria, with four counts after the government began a crackdown on the crypto platform last year.
According to reports, the charges include non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), company income tax, non-filing of tax returns, and complicity in aiding users to evade taxes through its system.
Binance announced in 2024 that it was pausing all naira transactions and trading.
The platform is also facing money laundering charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Binance is not registered in Nigeria and its operations in the country have been blocked by the Nigerian government.
Olayemi Cardoso, the CBN governor, disclosed that about $26 billion passed through the platform in one year.
The Nigerian government blames Binance for the collapse of the naira, which it devalued twice in 2023.
Last week, Tigran Gambaryan, head of financial crimes at Binance, alleged that three Nigerian lawmakers demanded $150 million in bribes to end the case against the company and its executives.
The lawmakers denied the allegation, threatening to sue Gabaryan if he fails to provide evidence.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that amid high inflation and a crackdown by African governments on cryptocurrency platforms, the continent’s crypto adoption has experienced massive growth since 2023.
The growth is driven by substantial investments and increased individual interests, facilitating trading across Africa.
A recent report by Chainalysis says Sub-Saharan Africa contributed about 2.7% to the global crypto economy’s transaction volume this year.
