According to court documents released on 19 February 2025, Nigerian lawmakers took legal action against Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange operating in the region since 2019, demanding that the company pay USD 79.5 billion in damages for alleged economic losses and USD 2 billion in unpaid taxes. Nigerian authorities blame Binance for the region’s currency troubles and decided to detain two of its executives in 2024 after crypto websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading in the local naira currency.
Furthermore, following a government crackdown on the crypto industry back in 2023, Binance has been subject to criticism in Nigeria, facing four counts of tax evasion. As detailed by Reuters, among these charges, the firm was accused of non-payment of value-added tax (VAT), failure to pay company income tax, overlooking filing tax returns, and supporting customers in evading taxes through its platform. However, Binance contested the charges and announced in March 2024 its plans to halt all transactions and trading in the naira.
Binance has long been under scrutiny in Nigeria, with the company facing several charges, from money laundering to financial losses due to manipulating exchange rates. Most recently, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dismissed a money laundering case against Tigran Gambaryan, a senior executive at Binance. Gambaryan was detained during a business visit to Nigeria in February 2024 and later charged, along with the company, concerning the alleged laundering of USD 35.4 million. At that time, both Gambaryan and Binance denied all accusations. The charges against Gambaryan were dropped due to concerns about his health raised by his family, with authorities allowing him to seek medical treatment abroad.
Just a few months before this, Nigeria fined Binance USD 10 billion as the platform was accused of causing financial losses within the country by manipulating exchange rates. The company was fixing its exchange rates in the region at an illegal rate, without ensuring that it met the required regulations and laws of the local industry.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now