The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has filed an amended four-count charge against Binance Holdings Limited and its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, alleging tax evasion.
FIRS lawyer Moses Ideho announced this on Friday before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ideho informed the court that following the escape of Nadeem Anjarwalla from lawful custody, the agency found it necessary to amend the charges to accurately reflect Anjarwalla’s status as being at large.
“We apply to substitute our charge dated 22nd of March, 2024 with an amended charge dated 17th of May, 2024.
“We apply that the charge be read to the 1st and 2nd defendants (Binance and Gambaryan) in order to take their plea,” he prayed.
However, counsel for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazo, SAN, who also represented Gambaryan, opposed Ideho’s application to read the fresh charge to his clients.
Ikwuazo argued that the charge had just been filed that morning, and he had not yet seen it or had the opportunity to consult with his clients to prepare their defence.
Subsequently, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until May 22 for arraignment.
Earlier, in a ruling, the judge ordered the FIRS to serve the company (the first defendant) through Gambaryan (the second defendant) with the charge in the matter. Justice Nwite held that Gambaryan, as the Binance Chief Financial Compliance Officer, should be served with the charge as the company’s representative in Nigeria, following the law. He dismissed Ikwuazo’s argument that Gambaryan was neither a director, secretary, nor chief agent of the cryptocurrency firm.
The court had initially scheduled their arraignment for April 4. However, the arraignment could not proceed due to the FIRS’s inability to serve the charge on the defendants.
The defendants are charged with four counts of alleged tax evasion in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024. In the charge dated and filed on March 22 by the FIRS, the defendants were alleged to have committed the offence on or about February 1.
Count one alleges that while offering services to subscribers on their platform, known as Binance, they failed to register with the FIRS for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.
The offences are punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the VAT Act of 1993 (as amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended), and provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).