Interpol, the international criminal police organization, is reportedly making strides to extradite Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, to Nigeria within the week. Authorities in Kenya have apprehended Anjarwalla, who had been on the run since his dramatic escape from custody in Abuja on March 22.
The sequence of events unfolded when Anjarwalla and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, were arrested and detained by the Nigerian government on February 28. Facing charges of tax evasion and money laundering, the duo found themselves in a precarious situation.
Anjarwalla’s evasion of Nigerian authorities was nothing short of audacious. While being held in an Abuja guest house, he managed to slip away after guards escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Exploiting this opportunity, Anjarwalla fled the country on a Kenyan passport, leaving his counterpart, Gambaryan, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the latter’s court appearance.
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The arrest of Anjarwalla in Kenya has been confirmed by government sources familiar with the case. “Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has been arrested by the Kenya Police Service, and he would be extradited to Nigeria this week by INTERPOL,” one source revealed to Punch, a Nigerian news outlet.
Meanwhile, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, has appealed to the Nigerian authorities, asserting that her husband had no influence over Binance’s corporate decisions and urging for his release.
As the saga unfolds, the fate of the Binance executives remains uncertain, with Anjarwalla’s impending extradition to Nigeria looming and Gambaryan’s ongoing legal battle in the hands of Nigerian law enforcement agencies.
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