The Kenya Police Service has arrested fleeing Binance executive Nadeem Anjarawalla, who escaped from custody in Nigeria.
According to the Punch, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) is concluding plans to extradite him to Nigeria soon.
A reliable source in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, who preferred anonymity, disclosed this to newsmen on Monday.
Anjarwalla had escaped from detention in Nigeria and reportedly fled to Kenya, where the Nigerian Government tracked him down.
JomogNews reported that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) confirmed Anjarwalla’s escape from custody.
In a statement signed by the head of strategic communication at the ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, the Office said a preliminary investigation showed that he fled Nigeria using “a smuggled passport”.
According to a Premium Times report, the Binance executive fled a guest house where he and his colleague were kept in Abuja on March 22.
Anjarwalla allegedly escaped after being brought by the on-duty guards to a nearby mosque for prayers in observance of the recent Ramadan fast.
He reportedly took a Middle East aircraft out of Abuja. However, it is unclear how he left on an international flight, given that the Nigerian government had seized his only passport – the British passport on him when he was arrested.
The Office added that the suspect escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria and was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had in a statement in March, said that the Commission is collaborating with INTERPOL, the US, UK, Northern Ireland and Kenyan authorities to extradite Anjarwalla.
The Commission had slammed a five-count charge bordering on tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, the firm’s executives.
EFCC arraigned Binance and the two executives on Thursday, April 4, 2024.
