The Nigerian government has revealed that Binance, a major cryptocurrency platform, generated over $20 billion from activities within Nigeria but has not paid any taxes to the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Wednesday, while addressing allegations regarding the illegal detention of two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.
The Minister clarified that the two executives were detained for engaging in currency speculation and operating unregistered business activities in Nigeria. He emphasized, “It would be recalled that Binance had a turnover in Nigeria of over US$20 billion in 2023 alone, far above the federal budget for health and education, fueling currency speculation and the cost-of-living crisis. In addition, it is not registered in Nigeria and neither has it ever paid any taxes within the Nigerian jurisdiction, having all the while operated without oversight or any of the normal guard rails to flag criminal activity.”
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were arrested by the Nigerian government on February 28 on allegations of currency speculation. Anjarwalla managed to escape custody in March, while Gambaryan was arraigned in court in April for tax evasion and other charges related to money laundering. Despite being on the run, Anjarwalla was included in the suit along with Binance.
In May, the Federal High Court denied Gambaryan bail, ordering that he be kept in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the recommencement of his trial. Recently, the law firm Aluko & Oyebode, representing Binance Holdings Limited, expressed concerns about Gambaryan’s well-being, stating he might die in custody and calling for his release.
