According to local media reports, the federal government in Nigeria and Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) are working together for extraditing a Binance executive.
The said executive escaped detention. A local publication quoted a government source who said that the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the country had ‘partnered’ with INTERPOL.
The partnership
The source also said that it was also working with the Kenyan and British governments, along with the FBI, to secure the arrest and extradition of Anjarwalla.
According to another unnamed source, the government wants to bring Anjarwalla back for the money laundering case that has been filed against him in the country.
Last month, the Binance executive had escaped detention and fled Nigeria. Anjarwalla was described as a fugitive who had escaped from custody.
Another source revealed that his arraignment had been scheduled to take place on Thursday this week, along with his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, the Head of Financial Crime Compliance, and Binance itself.
It had been reported on February 28th that Nigeria had detained Binance executives, who had been unnamed back then.
This was after an investigation had been conducted by the authorities in the country into crypto exchanges.
The background
Initially, both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla had been detained for 14 days at the EFCC’s request under the terms outlined in a court order, but no charges had been brought against the two.
An extension had subsequently been granted in a hearing that took place in mid-March. As part of the country’s investigation into Binance, it had demanded that the exchange provide some information.
The requested information had been about the top 100 users of the crypto exchange in the country, which included their transaction history for the last six months.
The Escape
On March 22nd, Anjarwalla escaped custody after he had been taken to a nearby mosque by guards for Ramadan prayers.
Holding both Kenyan and British citizenship, the executive had surrendered his latter passport. However, it is believed that he used the former for boarding a ‘Middle East airliner’.
On the same day, charges of tax evasion had been filed against Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in Nigeria.
After Anjarwalla escaped custody, on March 28th, the EFCC filed charges of money laundering against Anjarwalla, Binance Holdings Limited, and Gambaryan of around $35,400,000.
On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja will arraign Gambaryan, Binance, and Anjarwalla. Gambaryan has been detained by the EFCC.
This was after they took over the case from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). A lawsuit was filed by Gambaryan against the Nigerian government.
He claims that his fundamental human rights have been violated, as his passport’s seizure is against the country’s constitution.
He has also asked that both the EFCC and ONSA issue an apology for his detention.