Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of the senior Binance executives who was detained by the Nigerian government in late February, has managed to slip out of custody. Anjarwalla, a British and Kenyan citizen, is suspected of using his Kenyan passport to leave Nigeria on an unidentified Middle Eastern airliner.
Premium Times reports that Anjarwalla, who practiced Islam, disappeared after security guards escorted him to a local mosque for prayers during the month of Ramadan.
Although the passports of Anjarwalla and his colleague Tigran Gambarian were seized by Nigerian authorities when they were arrested in late February, someone managed to get him a Kenyan passport, which, according to the official version, allowed him to leave Nigeria.
The office of the National Security Adviser confirmed the event of Anjarwalla's flight and announced its intention to apply to Interpol for an international arrest warrant for him.
The pair were detained by Nigerian authorities after they allegedly refused to provide certain personal details of users whom the government accused of destabilizing the local currency.
A senior aide to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubuzabuza said the cryptocurrency exchange was fined $10 billion, but that statement was later retracted.
Prior to his escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who is a British and Kenyan citizen and serves as Binance's regional manager for Africa, appeared before a Nigerian court. He escaped after being in custody in a Nigerian court for 14 days. He was due to appear in court again on April 4.
"We call on Nigerians and the international community to provide any information that can assist law enforcement agencies in apprehending the suspect," said Zachary Mijinyawa, head of strategic communications in the council's office.
Nadeem Anjarwalla's escape further proves that you don't necessarily need to have stocks, gold or silver to save your life - cryptocurrency is enough. Presumably, he will turn up in the UK, as he is protected by his citizenship there, unlike the situation in Nigeria, where his arrest was conducted on unfounded grounds.
There is no information yet on the fate of his colleague Tigran Gambaryan, who was detained together with Nadim. It is likely that he remains in detention in Nigeria.