Local media reported that Nigeria’s federal government is working with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to seek the extradition of Binance executives detained in Nigeria.
According to government sources quoted in local publications: punchNigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is “cooperating” with Interpol, the FBI, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Kenya to secure the arrest and extradition of Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa.
A second unnamed source said the aim was to bring Anjarwala back to Nigeria to “answer the money laundering case in court” after he escaped detention and left the country last month.
A third government source described Anjarwala as a “fugitive who escaped from legal custody” and said he was arrested this Thursday along with Binance and his colleague Tigran Gambaryan, the exchange’s head of financial crimes compliance. I mentioned that it would be.
February 28th, Financial Times Nigerian authorities reported that an unnamed Binance executive was detained in Nigeria while they conducted an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange.
Initially, no charges were filed against Anjarwala and Gambarian, who were detained for 14 days at the request of the EFCC following a court order. The extension was later granted at a hearing in mid-March.
As part of its investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange, Nigeria required Binance to provide information on the country’s top 100 users and their trading history over the past six months.
Anjarwala’s escape from Nigeria
Anjarwala reportedly escaped detention on March 22 after guards took him to a nearby mosque for Ramadan prayers. The executive, who holds dual British and Kenyan citizenship, surrendered his British passport but is believed to have boarded the ‘Middle East airliner’ using his Kenyan passport.
On the same day, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) indicted the exchange, Anjarwala and Gambarian on charges of tax evasion.
After Anjarwalla escaped from custody, on March 28, the EFCC charged Binance Holdings Limited, Anjarwalla and Gambaryan with money laundering amounting to $35.4 million.
The Federal High Court in Abuja is expected to arraign Binance, Anjarwalla and Gambaryan on Thursday. sugar punch, The EFCC took over the case from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and detained Gambarian.
Gambarian sued the Nigerian government for violating his fundamental human rights, saying the confiscation of his passport violated the Nigerian constitution. He also called on ONSA and EFCC to apologize for his detention.
decryption We have reached out to Binance and the EFCC for comment and will update this story if we hear back.