The Office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu on Monday confirmed the escape of one of the detained executives of Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla from custody.
This was stated in a press statement signed by Zakari U. Mijinyawa, Head of Strategic Communication, Office of the NSA on Monday.
The statement said the suspect flew out of the country with a smuggled passport.
It was earlier reported that Mr Anjarwalla, 38, escaped when security guards took him to a nearby mosque for prayers because of the ongoing Ramadan fast.
The NSA Office went on to say that after being briefed on what had happened, it took urgent action to apprehend the suspect, working with relevant security agencies, MDAs, and the international community.
It added that security services are working with Interpol to get an international arrest warrant for the suspect.
The statement continued: “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.
“Recall 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 his escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and serving as Binance’s Africa regional manager, was being tried by Nigerian courts. The suspect 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.
“We urge the Nigerian public and the international community to provide whatever information they have that can assist law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspect.”
SaharaReporters had reported how a court said Anjarwalla and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan should remain in detention for at least two more weeks in Nigeria after appearing in court last week even though they had not been charged with a crime.
Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance’s regional manager for Africa, flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites and were detained on arrival on February 26.
