..Detains personnel responsible for his custody
By Ukpono Ukpong & Andrew Orolua
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said that the Federal Government in collaboration with the International Police (Interpol) has launched a widespread manhunt of the Director of Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a crypto-currency organisation.
Idris, while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, said that they were currently on his trail even as he assured that there is no hiding place for him.
The Director of Binance, Anjarwalla, is said to have escaped lawful custody on Friday, March 22nd, 2024.
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He made the assertion against the backdrop of claims that Anjarwalla had escaped from the country to an unknown destination.
According to Idris, since Binance is an international firm, adding that there is no way the culprit will evade arrest as he will be made to conform to the laws and financial regulations of Nigeria.
“There is now a widespread manhunt on him. The Interpol has also been contacted. The government is optimistic that this individual would be brought to book very soon, and those who were charged with the responsibility of keeping him in custody have also been arrested, and they’ve been questioned. As more information as regards this is available, we will make it available to Nigerians.
His explanation came barely few hours after the Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed that Anjarwalla, a key suspect in the ongoing criminal investigation regarding Binance’s activities in Nigeria, managed to escape lawful custody on Friday, March 22nd, 2024.
In an official statement released by the Head of Strategic Communication for the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, it was declared that collaborative efforts between the office, pertinent security agencies, various government bodies, and the international community are already underway to swiftly locate and detain the fugitive.
The statement stressed that security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect as a preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.
The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government of Nigeria, like other governments around the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform.
Until the escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and serves as Binance’s Africa regional manager, was being tried by Nigerian courts before he escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria. He was scheduled to appear before the court again on 4 April 2024.
Meanwhile, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Nigeria’s Presidency, said on Monday that security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped from security custody in Abuja on Friday.
Mr Anjarwalla, who is dual nationalities British and Kenya citizenship and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on 26 February 2024.
They were detained for alleged tax evasion and other offences following an ongoing criminal probe into the activities of Binance, a crypto-currency exchange company.
The suspect, Mr Anjarwalla, however escaped a day after the Nigerian government slammed a four-count criminal charge on him, Tigran Gambaryan and Binance.
Mr Anjarwalla, 38, escaped on Friday, March 22, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
Confirming the development, Mr Zakari Mijinyawa, Head, Strategic Communication, ONSA, said in a statement in Abuja, on Monday that Anjarwalla escaped on Friday.
Mijinyawa however said ONSA has taken immediate steps in conjunction with relevant security organisations, ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the international community to apprehend the suspect.
He said the security agencies were also working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect.
According to him, preliminary investigation shows that Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.
The ONSA spokesman said that the personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect had been arrested as investigation continues to unravel the circumstances behind his escape.
Mijinyawa said the Nigerian government, like others round the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform.
Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan passports, is Binance’s Africa regional manager entered Nigeria with British passport and has been under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria.
”He was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4.
”We urge the Nigerian public and the international community to provide whatever information they have that can assist law enforcement agencies apprehend the suspect,” he added.
The suspect is believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.
It remains unclear how Mr Anjarwalla got on an international flight despite his British passport, with which he entered Nigeria, remaining in the custody of the Nigerian authorities.
Authorities are also said to be working to unravel his intended destination in a bid to get him back into custody.
An Immigration official said the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport. He, however, said authorities were trying to determine how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was taken into custody.
The two Binance officials were being held at a “comfortable guest house” and allowed many rights, including the use of telephones, a privilege Mr Anjarwalla is believed to have exploited to plot an escape.
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