Binance Official Eludes Detention in Nigeria Amid Cryptocurrency-Related Criminal Inquiry | Law Enforcement Update

Upon his arrival in Nigeria amid stringent measures taken against his company, a key figure from Binance was apprehended.

A Binance cryptocurrency exchange senior staff member has reportedly broken free from detention in Nigeria, where an official criminal inquiry is probing the platform on allegations of enabling money laundering activities, as stated by government representatives.

Nadeem Anjarwalla, who oversees Binance’s operations in Africa, “managed to slip out of the country with a clandestinely secured passport”, disclosed the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser in a release issued Monday.

With a significant volume of crypto transactions, Nigeria stands as the most prominent crypto market on the African continent, a situation propelled by skyrocketing inflation and the devaluation of the national currency that drives its citizens towards cryptocurrency usage.

“Those who were in charge of Anjarwalla’s confinement have since been apprehended, and a comprehensive probe is in process to determine the exact series of events that led to the individual’s evasion of proper detention,” conveyed Zakari Mijinyawa, the spokesman for the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser.

Local media source Premium Times from Abuja initiated the report on Anjarwalla’s escape, capturing how he absconded from a guest house in the nation’s capital following the complicity of guards who permitted him to attend a mosque for prayer.

Detained after landing in Nigeria on February 26 due to escalated scrutiny on Binance, Anjarwalla—who is a citizen of both the UK and Kenya—alongside a fellow associate faced arrest.

Remaining under arrest is Tigran Gambaryan, an American national and colleague of Anjarwalla.

The Binance leaders were slated for a court appearance on April 4.

In reaction to accusations from local authorities denouncing the platform for laundering and “terrorist” funding, Binance discontinued transactions involving the Nigerian naira on its service in early March.

Public disclosure of proof against these claims by the authorities is pending.

Simultaneously, Nigeria’s taxation body has brought forward a four-pronged legal accusation of tax evasion against the exchange, accusing it further of aiding its clients in sidestepping tax obligations through its services.