The Nigerian government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5 billion for economic losses it said were caused by its operations in the country and $2 billion in unpaid taxes, court documents showed.
The Nigerian government blamed the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for Nigeria’s currency woes and detained two of its executives in 2024.
The cryptocurrency exchange websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the local naira currency.
Binance previously said it is working with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve potential historical tax liabilities.
The revenue service alleges in documents seen by Reuters that Binance has a “significant economic presence” in Nigeria and is therefore liable for corporate income tax.
It is seeking a court declaration that Binance pays income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts.
The FIRS is also requesting a 26.75% interest rate on unpaid taxes based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s lending rate.
Binance was already facing four counts of tax evasion in Nigeria after a government crackdown on the industry last year.
The charges include non-payment of value-added tax, company income tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in helping customers evade taxes through its platform.
Binance, which is contesting the charges, announced in March last year that it was stopping all transactions and trading in the naira.
The company is also facing separate money laundering charges by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, which it has denied.
