The Nigerian government says it has contacted Interpol for an international arrest warrant on Binance Africa Manager, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who is thought to have been smuggled out of the country.
WATCH:
The federal government has assured that it has launched a manhunt for the suspect in the ongoing criminal probe into the activities of Binance in Nigeria, Nadeem ANJARWALLA, who escaped from lawful custody in the country.Minister of information and national orientation,… pic.twitter.com/sA1LrsaDSx
— NTA News (@NTANewsNow) March 25, 2024
Anjarwalla, a dual British-Kenyan national, was arrested alongside his US colleague, Tigran Gambaryan in February 2024. Authorities have blamed Binance for a rising exchange rate while also accusing it of benefitting from ‘illegal transactions.’ The government reportedly imposed a $10 billion fine on the company, according to a presidential aide.
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‘I Said Our Government May Impose Heavy Fines on #Binance . . . I Never Said it Would Definitely Be $10 Billion,’ Says Nigerian Government Official“Binance platform harbors people who fix the exchange rate which quickly affects the Nigerian economy for the time when… pic.twitter.com/WDf42PUgwN
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 2, 2024
“We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue,” a Binance spokesperson has said.
On February 26 2024, Mr. Anjarwalla, serving as the company’s Africa regional manager, and Mr. Gambaryan, responsible for financial crime compliance at the firm, were arrested following their attendance at meetings in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
These meetings had been arranged at the invitation of the government. According to reports, the authorities allegedly insisted that they disclose the identities of Nigerians engaging in trading activities on their platform.
🇳🇬 REGULATION | Nigerian High Court Orders Binance to Provide Authorities With Information on All Users
In a separate report, an analysis of trades conducted between February 19 -21 2024 revealed a cluster of Nigerian retail traders placing substantial buy orders for USDT that… pic.twitter.com/54HOpI2Nkf
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 19, 2024
A court initially granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) request to detain the two executives for a period of 14 days.
According to Reuters, a person representing them, who asked not to be named, said the two officials were being held unlawfully since their detention order expired on March 12 2024, adding that Anjarwalla left Nigeria by lawful means.
- Non-payment of value-added tax (VAT)
- Non-payment of company income tax
- Failure to file tax returns
- Complicity in facilitating customers to evade taxes through its platform
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