Nigerian Government charged cryptocurrency exchange operator Binance with four counts of tax evasion on Monday and said they were collaborating with Interpol to apprehend a business official who evaded detention last week.
The allegations resulted from an examination into the company’s Nigerian operation and suspected attempts to manipulate Nigerian currency.
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Services stated on Monday that Binance violated four tax regulations by failing to pay firm income tax, value added tax, tax return filing responsibilities, and aiding tax evasion for Binance customers.
The government also said Binance had neglected to register for tax purposes with the authorities.
Binance previously denied any wrongdoing in Nigeria. The corporation did not return VOA’s request for comment.
On February 26, Nigerian officials seized two of the company’s executives: Tigran Gambaryan, a United States citizen, and Nadeem Anjawalla, a British Kenyan.
According to Eze Onyekpere, founder of the Centre for Social Justice, the arrests and charges were widely expected.
“It shouldn’t be surprising that they may have violated Nigerian laws,” he said. “Nigeria is hardly the only country that has charged executives for breaking its laws. The only sensible course of action is to bring them before the court and allow them to defend themselves. Due Process and a Fair Hearing must be followed.”
Meanwhile, the national security adviser’s office announced Monday that Anjawalla had fled detention. The security adviser stated that officials were working with international police to get a warrant for his arrest.
Binance confirmed that one of its officers was no longer in custody.
Last year, Nigerian authorities implemented radical measures, including currency controls, in an effort to stimulate the economy.
However, months following their introduction, the naira lost around 70% of its value. Authorities believe companies such as Binance played a part in attempting to manipulate the currency.
However, public finance specialist Isaac Botti believes it could not have happened if the government had not been so careless towards enterprises like Binance, who abused the system.
“Our system has been designed to be porous, and this is the advantage these guys take,” Botti told reporters. “They understand the system. In a normal climate, you do not allow for this level of porosity in your system.”
Binance suspended all transactions and trading in Nigerian naira earlier this month, stating that any leftover balances would be immediately converted to tether, a digital stablecoin tethered to the US dollar.