- Nigerian court delays Binance tax evasion case to April 30, for further review.
- Binance disputes legality of email service method used by Nigeria’s tax authority, FIRS.
- Case may set a precedent for crypto regulation and tax enforcement in high-adoption regions.
A Nigerian court has delayed the ongoing tax evasion trial involving cryptocurrency exchange Binance until April 30. The adjournment also gave Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) time to respond to Binance’s request to withdraw the earlier court order. This order has enabled the FIRS to send Binance via email the petition court documents.
During the court proceedings, the lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, questioned the delivery method of the email. According to the lawyer, the FIRS did not get court approval to send legal documents to Binance outside the country.
He said:
“On the whole, the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance, who is registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands, is improper and should be set aside.”
Details of the Tax Evasion Case
In February 2025, the FIRS sued Binance for $2 billion in unpaid taxes. The Nigerian government, however, also states that Binance has brought about $79.5 billion worth of economic damage from interference in the country’s currency. The FIRS is said to have demanded the corporate income taxes for 2022 and 2023 as well as an annual penalty of 10 per cent on the unpaid amounts.
Nigerian authorities contend that Binance has a significant economic presence in the country and should have paid local corporate taxes. Instead Binance disagrees and emphasizes its cooperative approach to Nigerian authorities to address potential historical tax liabilities.
This case has also attracted enormous interest since it may have an impact on how future cryptocurrency establishments will operate in Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities say that the volume of Binance’s trading activities severely dented the local naira currency and was part of a larger economic disturbance.
Previous Legal Issues and Executive Detentions
This is not the first time Binance has been challenged by a legal case in Nigeria. In February, Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were held in Nigeria over charges of tax fraud and money laundering. The charges were only directed at their roles in crypto-based financial wrongdoing.
Both executives faced tax charges and the authorities dropped those charges in June 2024. Anjarwalla escaped custody in March 2024 after fleeing to Kenya, and he is still at large. Because of severe health issues, such as pneumonia, malaria, and spinal problems, Gambaryan, a US citizen, was released from custody in October 2024 and returned home.
Binance stopped accepting naira deposits and withdrawals in March 2024 in compliance with legal pressures, pulling down most of its operations in Nigeria. That was a big withdrawal from one of Africa’s biggest cryptocurrency markets.
The ongoing legal battle is also an example of how crypto exchanges operating without a clear framework of rules in the jurisdictions are under more scrutiny. The Nigerian case joins a complex global legal landscape facing Binance as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The court’s postponement gives both parties additional preparation time for further legal arguments. The outcome could also establish important conventions on crypto regulation and enforcement in international regions with high crypto adoption and blurry tax and regulatory environment.
