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One of the Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, detained by the Nigerian government, over issues related to tax evasion and other offences, has reportedly escaped from detention.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager was detained along with Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance when they arrived in Nigeria in February.
According to a report, Anjarwalla escaped from detention on Friday, 22 March, from a guest house in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory (FCT), where himself and Gambaryan were detained.
Recall that Binance, a global cryptocurrency company, is currently under probe in the country over activities relating to tax evasion, currency speculation and manipulation.
The online financial company has been operating in the cyber space of Nigeria for more than six year with not less than 20 million Nigerians on the platform.
The probe is part of efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), together with anti-graft agencies, to discourage currency speculation, with illegal Bureaux de Change operators not spared.
Following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Special Investigation Team (SIT) “received an intelligence stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance.
Information afforded to the team by Binance showed that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone on the cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally stood at $21.6 billion.
It was gathered that Anjarwalla escaped from detention a day after the Nigerian government slammed a four-count criminal charge against him, Gambaryan and Binance.
According to PT sources, Anjarwalla escaped after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
The Binance executive, a Briton, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is believed to have flown out of Abuja via a Middle East airliner using a Kenyan passport.
TNG recalls the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes had earlier recommended the arrest of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bianace, Changpeng Zhao.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had also ordered Binance to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the comprehensive data of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Following refusal to cooperate in the investigation, the two Binance executives who were remanded for 14 days had the remand extended by for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence.