From Godwin Tsa Abuja
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court on Friday discharged a 39-year-old American, Tigran Gambaryan and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla from the tax evasion charge slammed against them and their cryptocurrency exchange company, Binance, by the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS).
The decision was informed by the appointment of a Nigerian representative for Binance, Ayodele Omotilewa.
Following the appointment of Omotilewa, the prosecution agency (FIRS), filed a fresh charge and listed Binance as the sole defendant.
The case against Binance borders on allegations of failure to collect and remit taxes, including Value Added Tax (VAT) and Capital Income Tax (CIT) from its operations in Nigeria.
Meanwhile proceedings have been shifted to July 12 for plea of the defendant and discussions on whether the Nigerian representative should be required to be put in the dock.
FIRS had on March 22, 2024, filed legal proceedings against the cryptocurrency exchange platform and Gambaryan alleging tax evasion.
On May 17 2024, the FIRS amended its lawsuit, alleging Binance allegedly failed to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation, particularly the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income tax (CIT), as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.
The Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, had said that the cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, had a turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone.
Following the agreement by the legal team on both sides, Justice Emeka Nwite further adjourned to today, June 14 for the arraignment of Binance and Gambaryan.
At the resumed proceedings on Friday, counsel for Binance, Tonye Krukrubo SAN, told Justice Emeka Nwite that his client has forwarded the name of its official representative to the FIRS and to the court. Justice Nwite said on the issue of whether the representative of Binance should be in the dock, parties should file a written address on it so he can rule on it.
Subsequently, he held that the “charges filed on March 22, 2024 and May 17, 2024 are hereby struck out.” The judge also struck out the names of Gambaryan and Nadeem from the case and adjourned to July 12 for plea.