KEY POINTS
- Anjarwalla was reportedly arrested by Kenya Police Service
- His wife denied the report, and the Nigerian government has yet to officially announce Anjarwalla's arrest
- Tigran Gambaryan remains detained in Nigeria after he was arrested alongside Anjarwalla in February
Binance's regional manager for Africa who "escaped" Nigerian custody and fled to Kenya has been arrested by Kenyan authorities, a local report revealed.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, who, along with Binance's chief compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan, was detained in Nigeria late in February over the cryptocurrency exchange giant's supposed violations,
Anjarwalla, who managed to flee from custody nearly a month after his detention, has been arrested by the Kenya Police Service, Nigerian outlet The Punch reported Monday, citing government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
One source said Anjarwalla will be extradited to Nigeria "this week" by the Interpol, but the Nigerian government has yet to officially confirm the report. Anjarwalla's wife, through a spokesperson, denied the report regarding Anjarwalla's arrest in Kenya and his impending extradition to Nigeria, as per CoinDesk.
Binance did not immediately respond to International Business Times' request for comment.
The outlet previously reported that after "escaping" Nigerian custody, Anjarwalla fled to Kenya and immediately went into hiding. Among the multiple charges Binance is faced within Nigeria is tax evasion and money laundering.
Anjarwalla and Gambaryan were detained on Feb. 26 after they flew to Nigeria to discuss the Nigerian government's issues regarding Binance's operations in the country.
"While it is inappropriate for us to comment on the substance of the claims at this time, we can say that we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to bring Nadeem and Tigran back home safely to their families," a Binance spokesperson told IBT in mid-March.
It is worth noting that the Binance executives were not charged with any crimes at the time of their detainment. However, the Nigerian government and central bank have suggested that the crypto exchange titan was pushing down the Nigerian naira's value.
According to a petition initiated by Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, Nigerian authorities "continue to refuse to allow him to leave the country as they work-up bogus charges, and the conditions of his detention have worsened significantly." She also said Nigeria "never explained" the motives behind investigating Gambaryan, who is a former U.S. federal agent.
While Binance has not spoken much about Anjarwalla's case, the crypto giant has since "respectfully" requested for Gambaryan's release. It said Gambaryan "has no decision-making power in the company" and cannot be held responsible for ongoing discussions between Binance and Nigerian authorities.
#Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.#BringTigranHome
— Binance (@binance) April 3, 2024
Read more 👇https://t.co/tE3GPN6VOZ
Meanwhile, Binance continues to seek business expansion in other countries amid scrutiny in Nigeria and the recent ban in the Philippines over a lack of operational licensing.
Just this month, the company secured a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which will allow it to offer services to both qualified institutional investors and retailers.
