IN an unprecedented legal showdown, the Nigerian government has sued global cryptocurrency exchange
Binance, demanding $81.5 billion in damages and unpaid taxes. The lawsuit claims that Binance’s activities in Nigeria have caused significant economic harm and accuses the company of evading taxes on its local earnings. This marks a bold step in Nigeria’s effort to regulate its rapidly growing cryptocurrency sector and hold international operators accountable.
According to court documents, the government is seeking $79.5 billion for alleged economic losses and $2 billion in back taxes, covering 2022 and 2023.
Authorities have blamed Binance for contributing to Nigeria’s currency challenges and detained two Binance executives in 2024, following claims that the platform facilitated trading of the naira.
While Binance, unregistered in Nigeria, has yet to com-ment, it previously stated its intention to collaborate with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on poten-tial historic tax liabilities. The FIRS asserted that Binance has a “significant economic pres-ence” in the country, making it liable for corporate income taxes, along with a 10 per cent annual penalty and a 26.75 per cent interest rate on unpaid taxes based on Nigeria’s lending rate.
The cryptocurrency exchange already faces four charges related to tax evasion, including failure to pay value-added tax (VAT), corporate income tax, and non-compliance with tax return filings. It was also accused of enabling customers to evade taxes through its platform. Amid escalating scru-tiny, Binance halted all naira transactions in March 2024 and continues to contest the charges.
The company is also battling separate money laundering allegations brought by Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, charges it has consistently denied.
In a related development, Philip Agbese, a member of Nigeria’s House of Represent-atives, has filed a A1 billion defamation suit against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.
Agbese accused Gambaryan of falsely implicating him and two other lawmakers in a $150 million bribery scandal, damaging his reputation.
On social media platform X, Gambaryan alleged that Nigerian officials sought personal gains from the Binance dis-pute, specifically naming National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu. He claimed Rib-adu wanted payouts to fund political ambitions and even hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate his release from detention, though the effort reportedly failed.
The Nigerian government dismissed these accusations as baseless, with Information Minister Mohammed Idris asserting that Gambaryan’s claims lacked credibility and were aimed at intimidating officials who pursued justice.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for an independent investigation into Gambaryan’s bribery allegations, urging transparency rather than outright dismissal of the claims.
As the controversy deepens, public reactions remain divided, with mixed opinions on Gambaryan’s allegations and Nigeria’s handling of the cryptocurrency dispute.
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