Published 25th Mar, 2024

By Emmanuel Uti

Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of the two Binance executives detained in Nigeria for alleged tax evasion and other offences, has escaped from lawful custody.

According to Premium Times, the 38-year-old Briton absconded on Friday, March 22, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were being held after guards on duty escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers as part of Ramadan observance.

The British national, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, is said to have departed Abuja via a Middle East airliner, while his British passport, used for entry into Nigeria, remains in the custody of Nigerian authorities.

Authorities are currently endeavouring to ascertain his intended destination to apprehend him and return him to custody.

Sources indicate that the two officials were detained in a “comfortable guest house” with certain privileges, including access to telephones, a privilege that Anjarwalla purportedly exploited to orchestrate his escape.

The Nigerian government detained Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, when they arrived in Nigeria on February 26.

An Abuja magistrate court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an order to remand them for 14 days after the filing of criminal charges against the two executives.

Furthermore, the court mandated Binance to furnish the Nigerian government with data concerning Nigerians trading on its platform, a directive the company declined to adhere to.

Consequently, the court extended the officials’ remand for an additional 14 days to prevent potential tampering with evidence. The case has been adjourned until April 4, 2024.

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