One of the two Binance executives detained in Nigeria for alleged tax evasion and other offenses, Nadeem Anjarwalla, reportedly escaped from custody. The Federal Government detained the two senior executives of Binance in February, amidst efforts to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges. The charges against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform. Anjarwalla reportedly escaped from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were being held.
Anjarwalla, a British national who also holds Kenyan citizenship, is suspected to have departed Abuja via a Middle East airline. How he boarded an international flight despite his British passport being held by Nigerian authorities remains unclear. Authorities are working to unravel his intended destination to get him back into custody. An Immigration official said the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport. The official disclosed that authorities are investigating how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when arrested.
Premium Times reports that the two officials were detained in a “pleasant guest house” and granted numerous privileges, such as access to telephones. Anjarwalla is suspected to have taken advantage of this opportunity to plan his escape. The Head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, could not confirm the incident when contacted on Sunday night. Mijinyawa promised to enquire and revert, but has yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
