In a dramatic turn of events, one of the two executives from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, who were detained in Nigeria, has managed to escape the custody of the country’s security operatives.
Sources familiar with the situation revealed this to PREMIUM TIMES, identifying the escaped executive as Nadeem Anjarwalla.
Reportedly, Mr. Anjarwalla, aged 38, fled from the Abuja guesthouse where he and his colleague were being held on Friday, March 22. Guards allegedly took him to a nearby mosque for prayers due to the ongoing Ramadan fast, providing him with an opportunity to escape.
Insiders suggest that Anjarwalla, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, may have departed from Abuja aboard a Middle East-bound airliner.
The method by which Mr. Anjarwalla boarded an international flight remains a mystery, especially considering that his British passport, used for entry into Nigeria, remains in the possession of Nigerian authorities.
Previously, Reuters reported on a court ruling that Anjarwalla and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, should remain in detention for at least two more weeks in Nigeria. This decision came after their initial court appearance last Wednesday, despite not being formally charged with any crime.
Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan serving as Binance’s regional manager for Africa, arrived in Nigeria following the country’s ban on several cryptocurrency trading platforms and were apprehended upon arrival on February 26.
The duo appeared in a Federal High Court in Abuja last Tuesday, where lawyers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sought a new detention order after the initial one expired on March 12. However, the judge refrained from issuing a ruling on EFCC’s request.
