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Tax evasion trial of Binance executives postponed until June 14 by Nigerian court

Published

1 month ago

May 23, 2024

A Nigerian court Wednesday postponed the tax evasion case against Binance until next month, when the cryptocurrency exchange and two of its officials might potentially be charged, according to the judge.

Authorities were unable to bring U.S. citizen and Binance head of financial crime compliance Tigran Gambaryan to court, which caused the case to standstill. Gambaryan did not give a justification for missing the courtroom.

An Abuja court decided on Friday that Gambaryan, representing Binance, may go to trial in the tax evasion case. In May, Binance CEO Richard Teng charged that Nigeria was creating a hazardous precedent when its executives were invited to the nation and subsequently taken into custody as part of an anti-crypto campaign. The business is contesting the proceedings because it is accused of money laundering and tax evasion.

Four charges of tax evasion are brought against Binance and its executives, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan who serves as Binance’s regional manager for Africa. One of the charges is failing to register for taxes with the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria.

Despite Anjarwalla’s March escape from detention, the lawsuit still lists him as “at large,” which might delay the trial because Nigerian law mandates that all parties must be served before the case can move forward, according to Chukwuka Ikwuazom, the attorney for Gambaryan.

Moses Ideho, a revenue service attorney, stated that Gambaryan should have been brought before the court by the Nigerian jail service and that he was unaware of the reason for his absence. The potential arraignment of Binance and Gambaryan has been postponed until June 14 by Judge Emeka Nwite.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, has charged Binance and the executives with laundering over $35 million in addition to the tax evasion case. On Thursday, there will be a money laundering trial. In the wake of Gambaryan’s detention, Binance has declared that it is closely collaborating with Nigerian authorities.

VenturesNow

In Nigeria’s northeast, more than 1,800 gas stations shut over smuggling

Published

18 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s local head of petroleum marketers stated that around 2,000 gas stations in the northeastern part of the country were closed over an anti-smuggling operation that targeted particular operators, forcing drivers to purchase gasoline on the black market.

The Nigeria Customs Service impounded tanker trucks and closed some fuel outlets on suspicion that they were smuggling gasoline to neighbouring Cameroon. This led to the suspension of operations at gas stations, according to Dahiru Buba, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for the states of Taraba and Adamawa.

For years, low-cost gasoline smuggled from Nigeria has been the main source of income for black-market fuel merchants in Cameroon, Benin and Togo.

That black market commerce collapsed when Nigeria eliminated its petrol subsidy last year, but since June 2023, Nigeria has capped the price of the commodity, even if its currency has sharply declined. As a result, the product is now once again cheaper.

Under “Operation Whirlwind”, Customs initially impounded some tanker trucks belonging to IPMAN members and released them after the association protested. But more trucks were seized and several fuel stations were shut, forcing fuel station operators to close outlets en-masse in protest, said Buba.

“We wrote to them (Nigeria Customs) again but there were no responses that is why we decided to go on strike,” he said, adding that over 1,800 outlets had ceased to operate.
“This is our business and we cannot be quiet when our members are treated this way.”

According to Taraba and Adamawa Customs spokeswoman Mangsi Lazarus, tanker trucks were impounded because they were being used to transport gasoline.

Black market dealers swiftly capitalized on the shortages in Adamawa’s capital city of Yola, selling gasoline for 1,400 naira ($0.9459) per liter instead of the 650–750 naira it was selling for at the pump.

VenturesNow

Ghana, bondholders finalize preliminary $13 billion debt agreement

Published

18 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ghana announced on Monday that it had reached the final stages of a debt reform, becoming the second African nation this month, after reaching an agreement in principle with two bondholder organizations to restructure over $13 billion of its debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, bondholders in Ghana will forfeit around $4.7 billion of their loans, resulting in approximately $4.4 billion in cash flow relief until 2026, when the country’s current International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme ends.

“The formal launch of the consent solicitation is expected in the upcoming weeks,” the proposal, if approved, would allow the nation to avoid default, the administration stated, alluding to the process of presenting the proposal to all of its bondholders.

The initial information about the agreement, which will essentially equate to a 37% “haircut” in the bond market, was released by Reuters on Thursday.

The accord was deemed “a significant positive step” for Ghana by the IMF. The committee on behalf of its foreign bondholders declared that it would provide a route for the nation’s economic recuperation.

Following Ghana’s recent arrangement with its bilateral creditors and another slow-moving restructuring in Zambia earlier this month, the deal was made quickly.

The 18 months Ghana took “has been much faster” than Zambia’s, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Theo Acheampong, and this could help the country recover. A request for response was not answered by the Paris Club of Creditor Nations, which typically handles communications for official creditors.

However, the government noted that the official creditor committee, which is co-chaired by China and France, considered the deal to be a reasonable starting point for discussing its “Comparability of Treatment” concept, which is an analysis meant to make sure bondholders don’t receive too favourable conditions.

Bondholders now own two choices. One is a “disco bond,” with maturities spanning from 2026 to 2029 and an interest rate of 5% that will increase to 6% after mid-2028. It involves a 37% haircut or write-down of “principle.”

The second is a $1.6 billion par bond option with three instruments, the principal of which will mature in 2037 with no haircut other than a write-down of past-due interest and pay a 1.5% yield.

The government stated that about a different bond that is partially guaranteed by the World Bank, the unprotected section will be regarded similarly to the other portion of the nation’s bonds, and the multilateral lender will completely pay the guaranteed portion to investors.