Binance tax evasion trial in Nigeria adjourned until April 30 on 'substituted service' argument

Reported by The Block: A federal high court delayed the trial as a Binance attorney challenged a February order allowing authorities to serve documents through email.

Nigeria wants Binance to pay $81 billion in back taxes for allegedly operating without proper registrations.

An Abuja federal high court adjourned a tax evasion trial involving Binance until April 30 as a lawyer for the exchange scrutinized a substituted service order to serve legal documents via email, according to a Reuters report.

A court approved government prosecutors and the local tax authority to send case papers over the internet.  The order was “improper and should be set aside,” said Chukwuka Ikwuazom, a Binance attorney who argued that authorities must obtain formal permission to serve official documents abroad.

Monday’s hearing was the latest update in a crackdown on crypto service providers and ongoing investigations into Binance.  Nigeria’s government accused the crypto exchange of evading taxes and escalating national economic losses by illegally operating there.  When Binance dispatched two executives — Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan — to negotiate, domestic law enforcement arrested the pair.  A months-long saga involving a detainee’s escape, reports of human rights violations, and lobbying from top U.S. policymakers ensued afterward.

Anjarwalla fled the country and is still wanted by authorities.  Gambaryan, a former Internal Revenue Service agent, was released last October after nine months in Kuje prison, a maximum security facility built for high-profile suspects tied to serious crimes like money laundering and terrorism.  Gambaryan’s release was approved after his medical condition deteriorated, apparently due to his lengthy incarceration.  Nigeria’s government refuted the hush money claims but dropped money laundering and tax charges against the U.S. citizen.

Nigeria is seeking an $81 billion fine against the crypto exchange.  Authorities said Binance owes $79 billion in damages and $2 billion in back taxes.