Director of Binance Nigeria escapes from prison, suspected of tax evasion

Nigerian authorities are investigating how a captured Binance executive fled Nigeria with a fake passport. This was reported by a local news medium.

Binance CEO flees prison

In other news reports, the Nigerian government has initiated criminal proceedings against the stock exchange for tax evasion. According to local media, the charges were filed today (Monday) at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Binance director Nadeem Anjarwalla and his colleague Tigran Gambaryan have been held in a guest house in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, for several weeks. However, Anjarwalla reportedly fled from detention on Friday, March 22, after being taken to a nearby mosque for prayers.

Anjarwalla reportedly flew out of Abuja on a Middle Eastern airline. However, it is unclear how he managed to board the international flight. Because his British passport, which he used to enter Nigeria, was in the possession of the Nigerian authorities. According to an immigration official, he fled on a (fake) Kenyan passport. Authorities are now trying to determine how Anjarwalla obtained the passport as he had no other travel documents with him while in custody.

According to reports, the men had several privileges during their detention, including the use of mobile phones.

Anjarwalla is the regional manager for Binance in Africa and Gambaryan is a US citizen who led the compliance team. They were taken into custody upon their arrival in Nigeria on February 26. The men have been detained after a high court judge in Abuja received a criminal complaint against them.

Money laundering

The court allowed the Economic and Financial Fraud Commission (EFCC) to detain the two individuals for 14 days. The court further demanded that Binance give the Nigerian government access to data and details of Nigerian traders who use its platform.

But Binance refuses to comply with the court’s decision and the court extended the detention of the officials for another 14 days to prevent evidence tampering.

The Nigerian government has taken strict measures against individuals and organizations involved in terrorist financing and money laundering linked to Binance. According to government reports, the Binance exchange has been used to launder nearly $21 billion.