Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has decided to drop the tax evasion charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. Now, Binance itself is the only defendant in the case.
This decision comes a week after sixteen US lawmakers accused Nigeria of holding Gambaryan hostage. Gambaryan has been detained for 110 days, while Anjarwalla avoided detention since March 22.
The lawmakers stated in a June 4 letter to President Biden that the charges against Gambaryan are baseless and a tactic by the Nigerian government to pressure Binance. They emphasised that Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, has been wrongfully detained by a foreign government.
A Binance spokesperson expressed relief over the amended charges, noting that this development shows Gambaryan is not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be detained for the company to resolve its issues with the Nigerian government.
Despite the dropped tax evasion charges, Gambaryan will remain in custody due to pending money laundering charges from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He has been diagnosed with malaria and pneumonia, according to his lawyers, and a court ruling on these charges is still awaited.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were charged with tax evasion in March 2024 after FIRS claimed they failed to pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions worth billions of naira. Binance was accused of not paying value-added tax and company tax, and failing to file tax returns.
Before the tax evasion charges, Gambaryan was detained by the EFCC for several days before being released on bail. He first appeared in court on February 22, 2024, to face money laundering charges.
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