Key Takeaways
- Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive, has been found in Kenya after escaping from custody in Nigeria;
- The Nigerian government is seeking Anjarwalla’s extradition to face allegations of money laundering involving Binance;
- Another Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, pleaded not guilty to related charges.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive who fled Nigeria, has been located in Kenya.
The Nigerian Government is now working with Interpol and the Kenyan police to extradite him back to Nigeria so he can face charges of financial misconduct.
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Anjarwalla came to Nigeria in February to address allegations that Binance had manipulated the Nigerian naira, leading to his detainment in Abuja.
However, he managed to escape custody during a permitted visit to a mosque for prayer. Being a British-Kenyan dual national, he allegedly used his Kenyan passport to board a Middle East airline flight, while his UK passport was retained by Nigerian authorities.
The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), which leads the investigation, has charged Anjarwalla and another Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, with five counts of money laundering.
Meanwhile, Gambaryan has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his legal proceedings have been postponed to April 19. His wife, Yuki, has launched a petition for his release, which has gathered over three thousand signatures by the time of writing. Yuki stated:
It is deeply ironic that he is being charged with the crimes he spent his life fighting. My husband is an innocent man, a pawn in someone else’s game.
On March 5, Binance announced its decision to halt all transactions in the Nigerian naira in response to heightened regulatory scrutiny.
With Anjarwalla waiting for potential extradition, the saga of the Binance executives continues to unfold, revealing the challenging connection between national jurisdictions and the international crypto market.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.
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