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Nigeria Detains Two Binance Executives Over Alleged Tax Evasion, One Flees 🕵️♂️💸
Two top Binance executives have been detained by the government, with one fleeing.
According to local media reports, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is accused of tax evasion by Nigerian authorities.
The charges against the two detained Binance executives were disclosed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and presented to the Federal High Court in Abuja. The exchange is accused of four different types of tax evasion, including "non-payment of Value Added Tax (VAT), Corporate Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in helping customers evade taxes through the platform."
Reports emerged weeks ago that the Nigerian government had invited Binance executives to discuss the situation in the country, but the executives were unexpectedly detained. After weeks of investigation, the government remains resolute in its belief that the platform has laundered billions of dollars in suspicious funds and has impacted the local currency, the naira.
Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson, told Bloomberg in an interview that one of the detained executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has fled. According to Reuters, the country is working with Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant to locate Anjarwalla, who serves as Binance's regional manager for Africa.
