The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to defend the trading platform against tax evasion charges.

The federal government on Thursday alleged that Binance and its executives deliberately evaded tax payment since the trading platform was not formally registered with the country’s  tax body, Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Furthermore, it claimed that Binance neglected to send invoices to its users in Nigeria, a failure that prevented value added tax from being calculated and added to every transaction.

Mr Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla were invited by the federal government in February to answer queries regarding the operations of Binance particularly how it impacted the naira.

But after their arrival on February 26, the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu detained both men and accused them of sabotaging the Nigerian economy.

The regional manager for Binance Africa, Mr Anjarwalla, however, escaped custody on March 22 while he went to the Mosque to observe Ramadan prayers. 

His escape caused the government to beef up security for the remaining detainee, Mr Gambaryan, who arrived at court on Thursday surrounded by heavily armed security men.