Nigeria sues crypto giant Binance for $81.5bn in economic losses and back tax

Nigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5bn for economic losses the country’s government says were caused by the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations there and $2bn in back taxes, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Authorities blame Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for Nigeria’s currency woes and detained two of its executives in 2024 after crypto websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the local naira currency.

Binance, which is not registered in Nigeria, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it is working with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve potential historic tax liabilities.

The inland revenue service alleges 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 pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts. FIRS is also requesting a 26.75% interest rate on the 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 to evade taxes through its platform.

Binance, which is contesting the charges, announced last March that it was stopping all transactions and trading in the naira. The company is also facing separate anti-graft agency money laundering charges, which it has denied.