By Adedapo Adesanya 

There are strong indications that the wanted executive of the cryptocurrency platform, Binance, Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled Nigeria some weeks ago, may be extradited to Nigeria soon after he was arrested by the police in Kenya.

Mr Anjarwalla had escaped from custody in Nigeria following the country’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency platform in a bid to strengthen the Naira, which it claimed was responsible for the weakening of the currency. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also said over $26 billion was channelled through Binance without a trace.

“In the last one year, more than $26 billion have been funnelled through Binance without a trace,” the governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said earlier this year.

While the Nigerian authorities later traced Mr Anjarwalla to the East African nation, they could not apprehend him.

Now, multiple reports say the Binance executive is in the custody of the Kenyan police.

According to the reports, government sources in Kenya confirmed that the Binance chief is now in the custody of the country’s police.

Since he escaped from Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the International Criminal Police, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Kenyan Police Service have been in talks to extradite Mr Anjarwalla.

In March, the EFCC confirmed plans to extradite the Binance executive.

“The takeover of the prosecution of Binance chiefs by the commission is no less a strong message in the direction of EFCC’s resolve to hedge in distortions and disruptions in the country’s forex market,” the anti-graft agency’s chief Mr Ola Olukoyede said.

“Tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000 and are at the foundation of the Commission’s five counts against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s chief executives.

“While Gambaryan is currently in the Commission’s net, the process of extraditing the fleeing Anjarwalla is revving in full swing. Involved in partnership with the EFCC to nick Anjarwalla in flight are the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya as the clock winds down to his arraignment in absentia alongside the company and Gambaryan.”

Until his escape, Mr Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan citizenship and serves as Binance’s Africa Regional Manager, was facing trial in Nigerian courts.

The suspect escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court. He was scheduled to appear before it again on April 4, 2024.