Nigeria Delays Binance’s $81B Tax Evasion Case Over Email Dispute

A Nigerian court has postponed Binance’s tax evasion case to April 30, giving the country’s tax agency more time to respond to the exchange’s legal filings, according to Binance’s legal team.

Nigeria Demands $81B for Unpaid Taxes and Damages

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is demanding $2 billion in unpaid taxes and $79.5 billion in damages, claiming Binance’s operations in Nigeria caused economic harm.The agency claims that Binance has a “significant economic presence” in the country and should have paid corporate taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% yearly penalty on overdue amounts.

Binance’s court case in Nigeria has been delayed because the company argued that it wasn’t properly notified. Since Binance is based in the Cayman Islands and not physically in Nigeria, its lawyer said the tax authority needed special permission to send legal papers by email.

The court has postponed the case to give Nigeria’s tax agency (FIRS) time to formally respond to Binance’s challenge. In the next hearing, FIRS is expected to defend its use of email to serve legal documents to the offshore exchange.

Nigeria’s Crypto Crackdown

Nigeria is cracking down on crypto platforms, accusing them of disrupting the country’s currency market. In 2024, two Binance executives were detained as part of an investigation into naira-based crypto trades. Authorities claim Binance and similar platforms hurt the official exchange rates and help money leave the country.

In early 2024, the Central Bank claimed $26 billion in unknown user transactions went through Binance. Authorities demanded data on Binance’s top 100 users and their activity over six months. In response, Binance shut down its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading in Nigeria on February 20, citing system abuse and big currency swings. The government also blocked access to Binance’s website.

A key court hearing on April 30 will address Binance’s legal pushback in its tax case. This growing clash highlights the struggle between fast-moving crypto innovation and strict financial regulation in countries like Nigeria.

Even though Binance isn’t licensed in Nigeria, many locals still use it to trade digital assets and stablecoins.