Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance regional manager for Africa detained in Nigeria, has managed to escape custody from the office of the national security adviser (ONSA).
According to a report by Premium Times, Anjarwalla fled on March 22 from the Abuja guest house where he was being held, reportedly taking advantage of a moment when guards escorted him to a nearby mosque for Ramadan prayers.
He is believed to have left Abuja via a Middle Eastern airline, despite possessing a British passport, raising questions about how he managed to board an international flight.
Efforts are underway to ascertain his intended destination in order to apprehend him and return him to custody.
Premium Times reported that an immigration official confirmed Anjarwalla’s departure from Nigeria using a Kenyan passport, though authorities are investigating how he obtained this document, as he only had his British passport when detained.
Anjarwalla and his colleague were granted certain privileges during their detention, including access to telephones, which may have facilitated Anjarwalla’s escape plan.
Despite inquiries made to the head of strategic communication at the ONSA, there has been no response regarding Anjarwalla’s escape at the time of reporting.
Anjarwalla and another Binance executive were detained by Nigerian authorities on February 28, amid a broader crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms.
Anjarwalla was later hospitalized on March 12 after falling ill while in custody.
This arrest came after a federal high court in Abuja ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with data on Nigerian traders using its platform, as part of investigations into alleged tax evasion and failure to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The Nigerian government had previously demanded at least $10 billion in restitution from Binance for its alleged involvement in illegal transactions and manipulation of exchange rates, as disclosed by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, in an interview with the BBC.
