- Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance's regional manager for Africa, escaped Nigerian custody last month, after being detained.
- Binance recently issued a statement, defending Tigran Gambaryan against his detention,
- Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities are working with international agencies to extradite Anjarwalla.
In February, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance's regional manager for Africa, was detained alongside Tigran Gambaryan, Binance's head of financial crime compliance, after they entered the country to meet Nigerian authorities over Binance-related issues.
Nigerian National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu directed that Anjarwalla and Gambaryan be held in a secure location in Abuja. However, Anjarwalla managed to elude his guards and flew out of the African country on March 22. According to a report, he used a second passport that he seemingly hid from the authorities.
For weeks, Binance remained quiet on the matter. However, on April 3, the crypto exchange broke its silence and released a statement in support of Gambaryan.
“Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials,” the Binance statement read.
A government source cited by the local publication Punch, the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria is collaborating with INTERPOL, the FBI, and the governments of Britain and Kenya to facilitate the arrest and extradition of Anjarwalla.
Furthermore, another source mentioned that the purpose of the extradition is to bring Anjarwalla back to Nigeria to respond to his court case following the executive's escape from custody and departure from the country last month.
Recently, the Nigerian government has sought nearly $10 billion in damages from Binance. Additionally, an Abuja court has ordered the crypto exchange to hand over user information to the EFCC.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
