Kenyan police authorities have reportedly apprehended Nadeem Anjarwalla, a top executive of the cryptocurrency platform Binance. Anjarwalla had previously fled Nigeria following the Federal Government’s intensified crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms, a move aimed at bolstering the naira.
Anjarwalla was traced to Kenya by Nigerian authorities after his escape. Multiple reports now confirm that the Binance executive is under Kenyan police custody. Government sources in Kenya have corroborated these reports, confirming Anjarwalla’s detention.
Since his escape from Nigeria, several organizations, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the International Criminal Police, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and the Kenyan Police Service, have been negotiating Anjarwalla’s extradition.
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In March, the EFCC confirmed its plans to extradite the Binance executive.
The agency’s chief, Ola Olukoyede, stated, “The takeover of the prosecution of Binance chiefs by the commission is no less a strong message in the direction of EFCC’s resolve to hedge in distortions and disruptions in the country’s forex market.”
The EFCC has leveled five counts against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s chief executives. These charges include tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering amounting to $35,400,000.
Olukoyede further added, “While Gambaryan is currently in the Commission’s net, the process of extraditing the fleeing Anjarwalla is revving in full swing. Involved in partnership with the EFCC to nick Anjarwalla in flight are the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya as the clock winds down to his arraignment in absentia alongside the company and Gambaryan.”
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Anjarwalla, who holds both British and Kenyan citizenship and serves as Binance’s Africa Regional Manager, was facing trial in Nigerian courts before his escape. He managed to flee while under a 14-day remand order by a court and was scheduled to appear before it again on April 4, 2024.
In recent months, the Nigerian government has escalated its crackdown on Binance. Anjarwalla was among the cryptocurrency chiefs arrested in the ensuing conflict.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has alleged that over $26 billion was funneled through Binance without a trace.
CBN governor Yemi Cardoso stated, “In the last year, more than $26 billion have been funneled through Binance without trace.”
