Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of the Binance executives held in Nigeria over alleged tax evasion and other charges, has reportedly escaped from lawful custody.
The sources indicated that Mr. Anjarwalla, aged 38, managed to escape on Friday, 22 March, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained. Guards on duty reportedly escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers as part of the ongoing Ramadan observance.
The British national, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, is said to have departed from Abuja using a Middle Eastern airline.
It remains unclear how Mr. Anjarwalla managed to board an international flight considering that his British passport, which he used to enter Nigeria, remained in the custody of Nigerian authorities.
Efforts are underway to ascertain his intended destination and bring him back into custody, as authorities investigate the circumstances of his escape.
An Immigration official mentioned that the Binance executive fled Nigeria using a Kenyan passport. However, there is a query as to how he acquired this passport since he had no other travel document apart from the British passport when taken into custody.
Another source mentioned that the detained officials were held in a “comfortable guest house” and were granted various privileges, including the use of phones. Mr. Anjarwalla is believed to have utilized this privilege to plan his escape.
When reached for comment on Sunday evening regarding the escape, Zakari Mijinyawa, Head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, stated that he would investigate the matter and provide a response. However, no response had been received as of the time of this report.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Africa regional manager for Binance, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the cryptocurrency exchange platform, were apprehended upon their arrival in Nigeria on 26 February 2024.
A criminal charge was filed against the pair before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. On 28 February 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a 14-day remand order for the two executives. Additionally, the court instructed Binance to furnish the Nigerian government with data/information concerning Nigerians trading on its platform.
Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the officials’ remand for an additional 14 days to prevent tampering with evidence. The case was adjourned until 4 April 2024.
On the same day as the escape, 22 March, the Nigerian government filed a separate four-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Binance Holdings Limited, Mr. Anjarwalla, and Mr. Gambaryan. The charges allege that they provided services to subscribers on their platform without registering with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to pay the required taxes, violating Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).
They were also accused of providing taxable services to subscribers without issuing invoices for determining and paying their value-added taxes, a violation of S.29 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as amended).
