Key Points

• Binance offered Nigeria a $5 million down payment to settle its tax liabilities, contingent upon Gambaryan’s release.
• Nigeria rejected the offer, demanding more data and emphasizing the need for a fair settlement.
• The FIRS has filed a lawsuit against Binance for over $79 billion in economic losses and tax evasion.

Binance, the cryptocurrency giant, offered Nigeria a $5 million down payment as part of a four-year tax settlement in an effort to secure the release of its detained executive, Tigran Gambaryan.

The offer, made in August 2024, was part of Binance’s desperate attempt to resolve the legal issues surrounding its operations in Nigeria, but the Nigerian government rejected it.

Binance’s offer and Nigeria’s response

In February 2024, Nigerian authorities detained Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crimes compliance, for allegedly failing to cooperate with law enforcement in an investigation into the company’s activities in Nigeria.

Binance was accused of operating illegally in the country for six years, violating tax laws, and disrupting the foreign exchange market with its peer-to-peer services.

At a meeting in August 2024, facilitated by Binance’s counsel, Arnold & Porter, the company offered $5 million as a down payment toward its total tax liability, which was estimated at $7 million for the years 2020-2023.

The company offered to pay the sum into an escrow account, contingent upon Gambaryan’s release. Additionally, Binance proposed further cooperation by providing Nigeria with a list of its top 100 Nigerian users and hiring two firms—Baker Tilly and Chainalysis—to help determine the company’s tax liability.

However, Nigeria found the $5 million offer insufficient, deeming it a “ridiculous” proposal.

Nigerian officials were frustrated when a lawyer from Binance’s legal team suggested that Gambaryan was being held hostage, which led to the immediate cancellation of negotiations.

Nigeria’s response emphasized the country’s need for detailed data from Binance to accurately calculate the tax owed, asserting that the U.S. had already received such data.

Legal battles and future prospects

Nigeria’s stance on Binance’s tax liabilities is further solidified by two ongoing court cases. The first, a money laundering case, involves Binance’s alleged illegal financial activities in Nigeria, including unlicensed operations and currency manipulation.

The second case, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), seeks a substantial payment from Binance for economic damages, tax evasion, and violations of Nigerian regulatory laws.

The FIRS lawsuit demands $79.51 billion in compensation for economic losses caused by Binance’s operations, along with $2.001 billion in unpaid taxes for 2022 and 2023.

Binance is accused of hiding its business activities in Nigeria despite its significant economic presence in the country.

With 386,256 active users and a trade volume of $21.6 billion, Binance’s failure to register with Nigerian tax authorities has become a critical point in these legal proceedings.