- Binance’s legal ordeal in Nigeria has been marked with various delays.
- The crypto exchange is facing three criminal cases in Nigeria.
- Nigeria began prosecuting Binance last year.
Binance’s tax evasion trial in Nigeria has been postponed to October 14 after the presiding judge was a no-show to last week’s court proceedings, DL News has learned.
The development casts serious doubts over whether the Nigerian government’s legal fight against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange will ever reach a courtroom conclusion.
“This case will just continue to drag on and after a while, you won’t hear of it anymore,” a court official who wished only to be identified as Gloria told DL News on Monday. “It’s now a laughing matter in our circle.”
The three-month delay is the latest in a series of procedural mishaps that have characterised Nigeria’s prosecution of Binance, which began in early 2024 when the government accused the crypto exchange of facilitating illegal foreign exchange trading that allegedly devalued the country’s currency, the naira.
Nigerian authorities detained two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who had come to negotiate with state officials.
Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager based in Kenya, escaped detention last March. An Interpol Red Notice is currently outstanding against him, according to Nigerian officials.
Gambaryan, Binance’s former compliance chief, spent eight months in prison until his release on humanitarian grounds after negotiations between the Biden administration and Nigerian officials.
Despite Gambaryan’s release, Nigerian prosecutors maintained that they would continue to go after Binance.
Three cases
The crypto exchange is facing three separate cases in Nigeria: a tax evasion suit, a $35.4 million money laundering prosecution, and a newer charge that accuses Binance of economic distortion to the tune of $81 billion.
Nigeria’s information minister, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, told DL News in an exclusive interview in March that investigators found evidence of terrorists and kidnappers funnelling funds through Binance.
Alhaji Idris also said Binance’s unlicensed operation in Nigeria exacerbated insecurity concerns in the country.
But for all of this bombast, Nigeria’s legal offensive seems to be unravelling in real time. There hasn’t been any progress in the money laundering case since February, and the tax evasion trial has been pushed three months.
The $81 billion economic sabotage case is also in limbo. First, Nigerian prosecutors emailed the complaint to the wrong address.
Then, both sides argued over whether criminal complaints can be served via indirect means. The court has yet to rule on the matter.
With the gears failing to move forward on all these cases, observers are left to wonder if the Nigerian government’s aggressive legal stance against Binance is built on more bluster than backbone.
Binance didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is up slightly by 0.3% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $119,002.
- Ethereum is down by 2.9% in the same period to $3,697.
What we’re reading
- UK’s seized Bitcoin stash could get sold off to ease budget deficits — DL News
- Crypto Exchange Bullish Files for NYSE IPO — Unchained
- Are you ready for Appcoin season? — Milk Road
- U.K. Government Gears Up to Sell $7B Bitcoin: Report — Unchained
- Trump Media becomes fifth largest Bitcoin treasury company amid $2bn splurge — DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
