The news reaching News About Nigeria is that one of the detained Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has escaped from custody.
Anjarwalla and one other Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, were detained in Nigeria for alleged tax evasion and other offences upon their arrival in Nigeria on February 26, 2024.
A criminal charge was then filed against the two executives before a magistrate court in Abuja.
Also, on February 28, 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an order to remand the duo for 14 days while ordering Binance to provide the Nigerian government with the data/information of Nigerians trading on its platform.
Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the remand of the officials for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence and then adjourned the case until April 4, 2024.
Speaking on his escape from custody, a source told Premium Times that the 38-year-old escaped on Friday, March 22, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
Anjarwalla, who had fled from there, is reportedly believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner to Kenya because he also has Kenyan citizenship.
The investigation is said to be ongoing to unravel his destination in order to get him back into custody.
Also confirming his escape, an immigration officer who spoke anonymously confirmed that the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport.
He, however, said authorities were trying to determine how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was taken into custody.
