Nigeria Sues Binance For $81.5 Billion Over Alleged Economic Harm and Tax Evasion

Nigeria filed a $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. The country claims that the operations carried out by Binance have caused a huge harm to the Nigeria economy and in addition to that, the company has evaded taxes for the past two years. Specifically, Nigeria is seeking $79.5 billion for economic losses and $2 billion for unpaid taxes.

This is part of Nigeria’s broader move to crack down on the crypto industry which intensified last year. Authorities claim that platforms like Binance have worsened the country’s currency crisis by facilitating unregulated naira trading which has led to economic instability. In 2024, two Binance executives were arrested in connection with these allegations.

One of the arrested executives, Tigran Gambaryan, who was Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, faced money laundering charges of over $35 million. But in October 2024, the Nigerian government dropped all charges against Gambaryan citing his deteriorating health and diplomatic pressures. Despite his release, the case against Binance continues and the company denies all allegations.

Binance has said it will cooperate with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve any outstanding tax issues adding that it operates within international laws and is willing to resolve the issues amicably.

This case has added to the list of regulatory issues that Binance is facing globally. Recently, the exchange has been scrutinized by financial authorities in many countries and has been fined and restricted.

As a precautionary method, Binance has beefed up its compliance efforts and has invested heavily in regulatory measures to comply with global standards in different nations.