Nadeem Anjarwalla, a senior Binance executive, reportedly fled Nigeria amid charges of tax evasion among other allegations. Anjarwalla, who holds dual British and Kenyan citizenship, reportedly made his escape under the guise of attending prayer services, capitalizing on the leniency afforded to him during the Ramadan season, according to a local news outlet.
The 38-year-old executive was being held in a guest house in Abuja along with a colleague, under relaxed security measures that even allowed them the use of telephones. It was during a permitted outing to a mosque on March 22 that Anjarwalla saw his chance and subsequently vanished. He boarded a flight out of Abuja, leveraging a Kenyan passport to facilitate his departure—a move that has prompted investigations into how he acquired this document, especially since he was only known to possess a British passport at the time of his detention.
The Nigerian government, alongside immigration officials, is now piecing together Anjarwalla’s escape route and potential destination in efforts to recapture him. The circumstances of his flight have raised questions and led to increased scrutiny over the detention conditions that enabled such a breach.
Anjarwalla, who served as Binance’s Africa regional manager, alongside Tigran Gambaryan, responsible for overseeing financial crime compliance, had initially been detained on Feb. 26, 2024, upon their arrival in Nigeria. Following their refusal to comply with a court order demanding Binance to furnish the Nigerian government with data on its Nigerian users, both executives faced extended custody, with a renewed detention period aimed at preventing evidence tampering.
The duo faced serious charges in a Nigerian court, including the evasion of taxes and failure to comply with national regulations concerning the operation of their cryptocurrency trading platform. On March 22, the same day of Anjarwalla’s disappearance, Binance Holdings Limited, along with Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, was hit with additional charges related to tax compliance failures.
The three defendants have been accused of offering services to subscribers on their Binance trading platform for the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and the remittance and transfer of those assets while failing to deduct the necessary Value Added Taxes arising from their operations. Officials are also seeking punishment for allegedly assisting Binance users in evading or failing to pay taxes through the trading platform.
The Nigerian government has been cracking down on suspected money launderers and terrorism financiers, some of whom it alleged are using the Binance platform for criminal activities. It said over $21.6 billion was traded by Nigerians whose identities were concealed by Binance.
In conclusion, the escape of Nadeem Anjarwalla from Nigeria amid charges of tax evasion and other allegations has raised questions about the detention conditions and the compliance of cryptocurrency platforms with national regulations. The Nigerian government’s crackdown on suspected criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies highlights the need for transparency and accountability in the digital asset industry.
