Nadeem Anjarwalla, One of the two Binance executives detained in February 2024 for alleged tax evasion and other offenses by the Nigerian government is reported to have escaped the law custody.
Mr Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on 26 February 2024.
At arrival, criminal charges were filed against them before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. The court had ordered Binance to provide a detailed list and data of all Nigerians trading on the platform.
Following Binance’s refusal to comply, the court added 14 days to their prior detention time.
Information from our correspondent revealed that Mr Anjarwalla escaped on Friday, 22 March 2024, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
An Immigration official said the Binance executive escaped Nigeria on a Kenyan passport. Nadeem Anjarwalla who is said to be a Kenyan citizen is suspected to have found his way out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.
Anjarwalla’s escape has remained a missing puzzle despite his intentional passport withdrawal from him and in the custody of the Nigerian force.
However, authorities have embarked on a search to re-arrest him on landing in his intended destination. Various comments have been circulating on how it was seamless for him to plan his escape.
Sources mentioned that the two Binance executives were given too much freedom in their guest house which included the right to the use of telephones which is believed Anjarwalla leveraged for his escape plan.
The Head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, when contacted on Sunday, 24 March 2024, assured to make inquiries and revert as soon as the report is filed.
