Interpol: Binance executive will be smoked out of hiding and extradited to Nigeria

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) says plans are underway to extradite Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance regional manager for Africa, to Nigeria for prosecution.

Garba Umar, vice president of Interpol (Africa) executive committee, spoke on Tuesday during Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.

Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, were charged with tax evasion and money laundering by the federal government.

The duo were arrested and detained on February 28.

However, on March 22, Anjarwalla escaped from a guest house in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, where he and Tigran Gambaryan, his colleague, had been kept by the federal government.

Anjarwalla was said to have escaped after guards led him to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the Ramadan fast.

The Binance regional manager, who is said to hold British and Kenyan citizenship, reportedly fled Nigeria with a passport from the East African country.

Last week, reports suggesting that the Kenya Police had arrested Anjarwalla surfaced.

The Interpol official did not confirm the reports but noted that Kenya is where the fleeing crypto chief was last seen.

“I’m not aware but what I can tell you is that the last destination I know on my record of this guy when he fled (Nigeria) was Kenya. That I can confirm to you,” Umar said.

Umar added that Interpol has contacted all countries where Anjarwalla was believed to have transited and “we got some certain information which is not possible to share on this platform”.

“Rest assured, we located where he was, how he boarded, all information about him and how he landed. We have done that to make sure that he doesn’t escape justice,” he added.

Umar added that the Binance executive will be returned to Nigeria to face trial once a red notice has been issued and circulated to concerned countries.

“Now, it is not only morally right but it is legally right for the country to get him apprehended, inform the requesting country that ‘the fugitive you are looking for has been apprehended and is in our custody. Can you come and take him over?’” Umar said.

“This is the process. He may be in Kenya, he may be in hiding, he might have even left Kenya but because of the notices we have given, wherever he is, he will be smoked out.”

Gambaryan is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after his arraignment.

Recently, Yuki, Gambaryan’s wife, appealed to the federal government to release her husband, saying he had no influence on Binance’s corporate decisions.