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Nigeria has filed a new lawsuit against Binance, demanding $81.5 billion from the global digital asset exchange for economic losses and back taxes.
Nigerian authorities and Binance have been embroiled in a legal battle for the past year, with the exchange accused of economic sabotage, facilitating money laundering, evading taxes, operating without a license and crashing the naira.
The clash seemed to have cooled down considerably since the end of 2024, but as Reuters reports, Nigerian authorities are now demanding $79.5 billion in fines for Binance allegedly sabotaging the country’s economy. It also wants the exchange to pay $2 billion in back taxes for operating since 2019 without licensing or tax payments.
In their court filing, the authorities posit that Binance has had a significant economic presence in the country and was subject to corporate taxes. They want the court to order the exchange to pay backdated taxes since 2022, with a 10% annual penalty on all unpaid amounts. They have also called for a 26.75% interest rate on unpaid taxes, in line with the central bank’s lending rate.
Binance has denied some of the charges in the past but has admitted to others implicitly. In 2024, Nigeria hit the exchange with four tax evasion charges, but it disputed them. It has also denied money laundering charges leveled against it by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, it hasn’t denied operating without a license for nearly five years in Africa’s largest digital asset market. Then again, its business model has been “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” This approach has led to crackdowns in recent years, with founder Changpeng Zhao landing behind bars for four months for anti-money laundering (AML) lapses and operating without a license in the United States. Several regulators globally are also investigating the exchange, with France the latest to launch a probe into its operations.
The landmark trial in Nigeria starts next week, but no Binance officials will attend the court proceedings.
$150 million bribe: Binance’s Gambaryan and Nigerian officials trade accusations
Just days before the Nigerian government filed its $81.5 billion lawsuit, Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan reignited his feud with the country’s authorities over an alleged $150 million bribe.
Gambaryan, who leads financial compliance efforts at the exchange, was detained in Nigeria for eight months in 2024 as the government claimed to be conducting investigations into Binance. His case became a diplomatic issue, with American lawmakers and diplomats leading efforts to secure his release. The government finally released the former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official in October, dropping the money laundering charges against him.
In his first tell-all media interview, Gambaryan claimed that Nigerian government officials had demanded a $150 million bribe to release him. It’s not the first time this accusation has been made; last year, Binance CEO Richard Teng made a similar accusation, which the government dismissed as a sideshow to deflect from the legal battle.
Speaking to WIRED, Gambaryan claimed that Nigerian officials had sought the bribe, paid in digital assets, to make the exchange’s legal issues go away.
“As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best,” Gambaryan wrote on social media.
Some Unknown Facts- you can read the rest in the Wired article and the NPR story.
The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They…
The Nigerian government was quick to dismiss the allegations. In its statement, the government claimed to be concerned with “the outrageous allegations, misinformation, and defamatory statements” Gambaryan had made, which it maintained were all fabricated.
In turn, the government also made its own bribery claims, alleging that Binance had tried to secure Gambaryan’s release by paying off the officials.
“The government rejected Binance’s offer of a $5 million down payment in exchange for Mr. Gambaryan’s freedom, in favour of a more beneficial settlement with the American government,” read the statement by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris.
While he didn’t reveal the specifics of the settlement, the minister stated that it resulted in “tangible benefits for Nigeria” from the U.S. government.
“We categorically deny the retaliatory claims made by Mr. Gambaryan against Nigerian officials involved in his case, and we urge the public to disregard these false accusations in their entirety.”
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