Binance Crypto Exec on the Run After Busting Out of Custody
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Nadeem Anjarwalla Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance‘s regional manager for Africa, reportedly fled Nigeria after being detained upon arrival in the country as part of an investigation into the exchange.
Nadeem escaped guards who had taken him to pray at a mosque in Abuja and then fled the country on a Middle-Eastern airline, Nigeria's Premium Times newspaper reported.
"We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody," a Binance representative told Business Insider on Monday. "Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue."
Authorities detained Anjarwalla and fellow Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan on a visit to Nigeria in February. They'd been held in a guarded house since then. On Monday, Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service said it was charging Binance, Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan with tax evasion.
Chainalysis data shows that Nigeria has the world's second-highest crypto adoption rate. It has started cracking down on exchanges this year by ordering local telecoms companies to restrict access to Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance's head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance's regional manager for Africa, flew to Nigeria following the country's decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites and were detained on arrival on February 26.
The two suspect mentioned above appeared in a Federal High Court in Abuja last Tuesday. Lawyers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wanted the court to grant a new detention order after the initial one expired on March 12. The Binance executives opposed this. The judge did not make a ruling on EFCC's request.
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