A court in Nigeria has set October 11 to decide the tax evasion case filed against crypto exchange Binance. Binance is facing four counts of tax evasion, including failure to register with the Nigerian Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS).

According to local media, Binance lawyer Ayodele Omotilewa appeared in court on Friday, July 12 and pled not guilty to all charges before Judge Emeka Nwite.

Omotilewa demanded that the charges be dropped, arguing that the case had no merit. He called for a similar decision to drop the charges previously filed against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.

In June, the Federal High Court in Abuja cleared Gambaryan and Anjarwalla of tax evasion charges. Gambaryan, a US citizen, and Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan who fled to Kenya, still face separate money laundering charges, which both deny.

The court’s decision came after the FIRS filed amended charges against the two executives, effectively dropping the tax evasion allegations. This change comes after Binance appointed Omotilewa to manage its local operations.

Judge Nwite’s decision to postpone the case until October allows time for further examination and evaluation of the evidence presented. This gives the defense and prosecution additional time to prepare their cases.

In February, Nigerian authorities detained Anjarwalla and Gambaryan during a visit to Nigeria. They were held for weeks due to allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.

Although Binance did not comment on the latest developments, it had previously stated that the charges should be dropped. However, Nigeria attributed the currency problems to Binance, claiming that cryptocurrency platforms had become the preferred method of trading the Nigerian naira due to severe dollar shortages and the record low value of the fiat currency.

The crackdown on cryptocurrency activities is consistent with the National Security Advisor’s stance that cryptocurrency trading poses a national security risk. As part of this effort, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed fintech companies to identify and report accounts involved in cryptocurrency transactions and take appropriate measures to prevent their further activities.

The CBN payments policy and regulation chief appeared in court on July 6, arguing as part of the lawsuit that only banks and authorized financial institutions should process deposits and withdrawals for Binance.

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Binance, known as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been accused of tax evasion by Nigerian authorities amidst escalating tensions between the exchange and the government, local media sources reported on Monday, citing a statement from the country’s tax regulatory body.
The charges, which also involve two Binance executives currently detained by the government, were announced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and submitted at the Federal High Court in Abuja, according to one report.

The accusations against the exchange include four counts of tax evasion, encompassing “failure to pay Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and involvement in facilitating customers to evade taxes via its platform.”

The revelation of these charges comes after weeks of scrutiny and condemnation of the cryptocurrency exchange by the Nigerian government, which even went as far as inviting and subsequently detaining two Binance executives. Allegations against the platform include processing billions of dollars’ worth of suspected illicit funds and establishing an exchange rate for the local currency, the naira.

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