INTERPOL Africa Advances Extradition Process for Binance Executive Accused of Fraud
Summary:
INTERPOL Africa has completed extradition proceedings for Nadeem Anjarwalla, a top executive at Binance Holdings Limited accused of money laundering and tax evasion. The last known location of the fugitive is Kenya, and INTERPOL is collaborating with various governments to facilitate extradition to Nigeria. All countries where Anjarwalla may have visited have been contacted for information. Anjarwalla's co-accused, Tigran Gambaryan, remains in detention while his wife spearheads a petition for his return to the US. In connection with these events, Binance has ceased all Naira transactions, effectively withdrawing from the Nigerian market.
INTERPOL Africa has disclosed the finalizing of extradition processes for Nadeem Anjarwalla, a top executive of Binance Holdings Limited, who is on the run. This update was shared by Vice-President of INTERPOL Africa, Garba Umar, while featuring on Sunrise Daily program, a local media outlet, Channels Television, on April 30.
In the interview, Umar mentioned that INTERPOL Africa is making concerted efforts with various government agencies by issuing a red-alert on Anjarwalla and also providing essential documents such as treaties, a Memorandum of Understanding, among others to ensure his extradition to Nigeria to face charges.
Though Umar didn't confirm that Kenya is Anjarwalla's current hideout, he affirmed that the wanted cryptocurrency executive was last sighted in the country. He reported, "I don't have current information but from my records, the last place he was spotted after fleeing Nigeria was Kenya. That much is certain."
Furthermore, Umar stated that INTERPOL had reached out to every country that Anjarwalla might have passed through. He disclosed that they received significant data but didn't elaborate further due to confidentiality.
Anjarwalla, along with his associate Tigran Gambaryan, was initially held on money laundering and tax evasion charges by the National Security Adviser. However, on March 22, he managed to flee custody to Kenya.
It was reported that Anjarwalla used a Middle East airline to leave Abuja, despite the uncertainty of how he managed to get on an international flight. Particularly because his UK passport, which he used to enter Nigeria, is still with the Nigerian authorities.
While Anjarwalla remains elusive, Gambaryan pleaded not guilty, and his wife and supporters are clamoring for his release. Gambaryan's wife initiated a petition to get him back to the US, which has gathered 4,161 signatures so far. His subsequent bail hearing is slated for May 17.
Earlier in March, Binance announced its decision to discontinue all transactions in Naira, effectively pulling out from the market. In a statement, Binance pointed out that all naira trading pairs were delisted from Binance's peer-to-peer platform towards the end of February.
In relation to this, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria alleged that local crypto exchanges, including Binance, were conducting illegal transactions, referring to "suspicious fund flows".
Published At
5/1/2024 1:44:06 PM
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