Nadeem Anjarwalla, a senior executive of cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, has reportedly escaped from detention in Abuja.
Mr Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on February 26, 2024.
An insider said the two officials were detained in a “pleasant guest house” and granted numerous privileges, such as access to telephones, reports Premium Times.
The Nigerian government arrested the duo as part of efforts to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Anjarwalla, 38, is said to have escaped on March 22 from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were being held.
He reportedly went missing after guards escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers.
FG arrests, detains two Binance executives in crypto crackdown
The British national, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, is suspected to have departed Abuja via a Middle East airline.
An Immigration official told the online newspaper that the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport.
The official disclosed that the authorities are working on unravelling how he obtained the passport since he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was arrested.
Head of strategic communication at the NSA’s office Zakari Mijinyawa, who was contacted by the news platform on Sunday evening, had yet to react to the development as of press time despite assuring he would do so.
The Nigerian government on Monday filed tax evasion charges against Binance.
