Nigeria Files $81.5B Lawsuit Against Binance For Economic Losses

The Nigerian government has filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Binance claiming economic losses due to alleged illegal activities on the platform. According to a Reuters report, the Nigerian government demanded $79.5 billion for facilitating economic harm through unregistered operations, failure to comply with financial regulations, and $2 billion in back taxes.

FIRS Claims Binance Weakened Nigerian Naira

Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) noted that the crypto exchange giant has a significant economic presence inside Nigeria. The agency added that Binance has unpaid taxes from 2022 and 2023, including an additional 10% annual fine on the unpaid sum. 

The FIRS is allegedly asking for 26.75% interest. They claimed that the platform harmed the value of the Nigerian naira on foreign exchange markets.

Binance, however, has not commented on the recent development. The company had earlier stated that it was collaborating with the FIRS to settle possible past tax obligations. 

Nigeria Detains Binance Executives

Recall that the West African country arrested and charged two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. They were charged with tax fraud, failure to file tax returns, helping customers evade taxes, and money laundering. However, the FIRS later dropped the tax charges against both of them last year. 

In February 2024, authorities unexpectedly arrested Gambaryan and Anjarwalla during a routine meeting between the company and state regulators. Following the arrest, in March 2024, Binance stopped all naira trading on its platform.  

Gambaryan’s arrest drew media attention after it was revealed that he had serious health issues but was reportedly not given proper medical care. Consequently, U.S. Representative Rich McCormick called for the executive’s detention to be treated as a hostage situation and demanded his immediate release. 

In September 2024, U.S. diplomats pressured Nigeria’s government to release the Binance executive. Subsequently, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dropped the money laundering charges against the Binance executive in October 2024.  

Meanwhile, Gambaryan accused Nigerian lawmakers of demanding a $150 million bribe during his detention in the country. To back his claim, the executive mentioned a few names who approached him with a bribe request in exchange for his release.