The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has re-arraigned Binance Holdings Limited, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, before a federal high court in Abuja on four counts of alleged tax evasion. Ayodele Omotilewa, the company’s representative in Nigeria, was arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite on Friday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The amended charge sheet filed by the FIRS on June 14 lists Binance Holdings Limited as the sole defendant. The prosecution is seeking to prove that the company failed to comply with Nigerian tax laws, resulting in the evasion of taxes.
This development comes as Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, had earlier faced trial in Nigeria over allegations of tax evasion and money laundering. However, on June 14, the FIRS dropped the tax charges against Gambaryan after confirming Omotilewa as the company’s authorized representative.
Despite the dropped charges, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has yet to drop its charges against Binance and its executives. In February, the EFCC arraigned Binance Holdings Limited, Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s regional manager for Africa, over allegations of money laundering. Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained by Nigerian authorities but Anjarwalla managed to escape from custody.
The presiding judge has scheduled the trial to commence on October 11. The development is likely to have significant implications for Binance’s operations in Nigeria, which has been one of the country’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets.
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