By Adedapo Adesanya
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has confirmed the escape of a top executive of the cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla from custody.
Earlier reports had revealed that over the weekend, one of the two Binance executives escaped from the Abuja guest house where they were being held for almost a month.
The confirmation was contained in a statement by the Head of Strategic Communications at the ONSA, Mr Zakari Mijinyawa, where he stated that preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.
Now, the Nigerian authorities are also on the hunt for the possible accomplices.
Mr Mijinyawa said, “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.’’
It was widely reported this morning that Mr Anjarwalla, 38, escaped on Friday, March 22, 2024, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
The Briton, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.
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 February 26, 2024.
A criminal charge was filed against the two executives before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. On February 28, 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.
Nigeria earlier today (Monday, March 25) also slammed charges including four counts of tax evasion, including “non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform” on the exchange.
