The Federal Government of Nigeria has confirmed the escape of Binance Executive from custody on Friday, March 22, 2024.
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Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the FG has begun a manhunt for the fleeing executive.
The Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed that Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped from lawful custody in a statement.
“Preliminary investigation shows that Mr. Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport,” the statement by Zakari Mijinyawa, head of strategic communication at ONSA read.
It went further to say that “the personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention.”
The cable reported that Anjarwalla was said to have escaped after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
ONSA said “upon receiving this report, this office took immediate steps, in conjunction with relevant security agencies, MDAs, as well as the international community, to apprehend the suspect”.
“Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect,” the statement added.
Mr Anjarwalla”s escape came a day after the Nigerian government slammed a four-count criminal charge on him, Tigran Gambaryan and Binance.
Investogist reported in February that two seniors executives of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange was detained in Nigeria.
The executives reportedly flew into Nigeria following Federal Government’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites, but were detained by the office of the country’s national security adviser and their passports seized.
Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan and Binance’s regional manager for Africa; and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance were the two detained executives.
Addressing State House correspondents after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the FG has begun a manhunt for the fleeing executive.
He affirmed that Anjarwalla’s escape would not affect the payment of $10bn fines for money laundering. The federal government had requested at least $10 billion as retribution from Binance for profiting from “its illegal transactions” in Nigeria.
A criminal charge was filed against the two executives before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. On 28 February 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an order to remand the duo for 14 days. The court also ordered Binance to provide the Nigerian government with the data/information of Nigerians trading on its platform.
Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the remand of the officials for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence. The court then adjourned the case till 4 April 2024.
In March, the Nigerian government approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and slammed another four-count charge on Binance Holdings Limited, Mr Anjarwalla and Mr Gambaryan, accusing them of offering services to subscribers on their platform while failing to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to pay all relevant taxes administered by the Service and in so doing, committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).
On Monday, the federal government of Nigeria also initiated criminal proceedings against Binance.
Among the charges levelled against Binance are allegations of non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.
The government also alleged that Binance failed to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax purposes and contravened existing tax regulations within the country.
Binance in an email exchange with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday morning disclosed that it was informed that
Mr Anjarwalla was no longer in Nigerian custody. When asked about specific details of his whereabouts, Binance said it is primarily concerned about the safety of its employees.
“We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue,” a Binance spokesperson said.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur