FIRS Asks Court to Dismiss Binance’s Suit Allowing Agency to Serve Court Documents Via Email
- The Federal Inland Revenue Service want the federal high court in Abuja to reject Binance Holdings Limited's appeal
- This action coincides with the FIRS filing a $79.5 billion tax lawsuit against the Bitcoin exchange and two of its officials.
- But through its lawyer Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, Binance filed a motion alleging that the service was defective and should be terminated
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has persuaded the federal high court in Abuja to deny Binance Holdings Limited's request to overturn a previous ruling that permitted the tax agency to serve court documents by email.
Source: UGC
The move comes amid a $79.5 billion tax complaint that the FIRS brought against the exchange and two of its officials, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, for allegedly conducting business in Nigeria without the required tax compliance The Cable reported.
On February 11, presiding judge Inyang Ekwo permitted FIRS to serve the initial summons on Binance using a replacement method, by emailing Eleanor Hughes, the firm's general counsel.
On April 4, however, Binance filed a motion through its attorney Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, claiming that the service was flawed and ought to be revoked.
The company argued that, by the court regulations, substituted service cannot be used for businesses outside of Nigeria unless rigorous adherence to protocols for serving organisations outside of its jurisdiction is maintained.
“By the rules of this Honourable Court, service outside jurisdiction must comply with Order 6, Rule 18 or Rule 20,” Ikwuazom said.
He maintained that FIRS did not meet the requirements for substituted service and did not obtain permission from the court to serve outside its jurisdiction.
The cryptocurrency company, which its attorney claimed was registered in the Cayman Islands, claimed that the email-based service was inappropriate and unconstitutional.
However, in an affidavit submitted by Ishaya Isuwa, a litigation officer with the agency, FIRS, represented by senior attorney Kanu Agabi, SAN, refuted the allegations.
Binance's claim is false
Binance's claim to be registered in the Cayman Islands, according to Isuwa, was "false and concocted," and the business had not provided any registration certificates to back up its claims.
Additionally, he stated that Eleanor Hughes, the email receiver of the court records, is a principal official of Binance and that the firm has a "significant economic presence" in Nigeria. Hughes has been actively involved with Nigerian authorities, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Attempts to serve the paperwork on Tigran Gambaryan while he was in Kuje Correctional Center were unsuccessful, the litigation officer added, and the Binance representative ordered that the Aluko & Oyebode law firm be served instead.
However, the company rejected the materials, claiming that Binance had not yet provided them with a formal brief.
Isuwa insisted that the replaced service is legitimate and efficient due to Hughes' prior interactions with Nigerian authorities and her legal representation of Binance.
“Service of the originating processes on the 1st defendant/applicant through Eleanor Hughes is good service in accordance with rules of this honourable court,” he said.
The extension was granted without objection from FIRS.
Source: Getty Images
Agabi promised to reply to the substantive motion as soon as possible.
Ikwuazom informed the court at Wednesday's session that their motion from April 4 was scheduled for hearing and that they had also sought for an extension of time to regularise their files.
As a result, Ekwo postponed the matter until May 12 to hold a hearing.
Lawmaker speaks as Binance official names legislators Who Allegedly Demanded $150m Bribe
Legit.ng reported that Philip Agbese, the deputy spokesman of the house of representatives, on Friday, February 14, strongly denied bribery allegations made against him by Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.
In a statement obtained by Legit.ng, Agbese gave Gambaryan a seven-day ultimatum to provide evidence of his claims or retract them, warning that failure to do so would result in legal action.
Gambaryan had alleged that Agbese, along with two other lawmakers, demanded a $150 million bribe for his release while he was detained in Nigeria in 2024 over money laundering accusations.
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Source: Legit.ng
