Nadeem Anjarwalla, an executive at cryptocurrency exchange Binance who had escaped from Nigerian custody, has been found in Kenya. He will now face extradition proceedings, as reported by several local media outlets.
Over the weekend, there was a joint operation involving several agencies – such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Police Force, the Kenya Police Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the International Organization of Criminal Police (INTERPOL). The teams managed to capture the Binance executive after weeks of searching.
According to Nigeria’s Daily Post, Nigerian authorities have located Anjarwalla in Kenya and are collaborating with Kenyan authorities to repatriate him to his home country. The Nigerian newspaper The Punch, citing unidentified government sources, reported that Anjarwalla could be returned to Nigeria within a week through INTERPOL, the international criminal police organization.
Understand the case of the arrest of the Binance executive
As CriptoFácil reported, Nigerian authorities detained Anjarwalla in February this year along with another Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, after an “invitation” to discuss Binance’s operations in the country.
The arbitrary arrests came as Nigeria faces a currency crisis worsened by rising inflation and the significant devaluation of its currency, ranked as one of the worst in the world this year. Amid these economic challenges, the Nigerian population has turned to cryptocurrencies to protect their savings.
Nigerian authorities accuse the cryptocurrency exchange of manipulating the local exchange rate, tax evasion and money laundering. As a result, they want to impose a fine of US$10 billion on the exchange. The arrests would, therefore, be a way of pressuring the exchange to pay the fine.
Anjarwalla, who holds dual British and Kenyan nationality, is believed to have left Nigeria in March using an undeclared Kenyan passport. Meanwhile, Gambaryan remains in Nigeria and pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges during a court hearing in April.
Binance CEO Richard Teng promised cooperation with Nigerian authorities to resolve the issue. Additionally, Gambaryan is suing the Nigerian government for human rights violations.
Gambaryan sues Nigeria and goes underground
The cryptocurrency exchange executive asked the Supreme Court to demand an apology from the Office of the National Security Advisor and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Gambaryan said he was in Nigeria at the invitation of the bodies to discuss Binance’s activities in the country. He claimed that he did not commit any crime during the meeting and did not receive anything in writing about any crime he had committed in Nigeria.
“The only reason for the detention is because the government is requesting information from Binance and making demands on the company,” he said.
In early April, Gambaryan was transferred to an underground prison run by Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency after five weeks of detention in a government “guest house.”
Source: https://www.criptofacil.com/executivo-da-binance-que-escapou-da-nigeria-rumo-ao-quenia-sera-extraditado/
