Nigeria is pushing to have the fugitive Binance executive, Anjarwalla, extradited to face trial on alleged $35 million money laundering and tax evasion charges.
The Kenyan police have apprehended Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive on the run, as efforts by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) intensify to extradite him to Nigeria.
Nigeria seeks to have Anjarwalla, the fugitive Binance executive, returned to face trial over alleged money laundering and tax evasion charges totaling $35 million.
According to The PUNCH, Anjarwalla, who fled to the East African country, is slated for extradition to Nigeria within the week. SaharaReporters previously disclosed Anjarwalla’s escape from detention in Nigeria back in March.
Confirming the escape, the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, revealed that Anjarwalla had departed Nigeria using a smuggled passport. He was apprehended in Kenya earlier this month by a joint team involving INTERPOL, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Kenya Police Service.
The extradition of the Binance executive follows the approval of an extradition request by INTERPOL, Nigeria, in collaboration with the EFCC. Government sources, speaking on anonymity, disclosed that Anjarwalla’s arrest in Kenya signals his imminent extradition to Nigeria this week.
Anjarwalla, reported to be the son of Atiq Anjarwalla, a prominent figure at Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates, East Africa’s largest commercial law firm, faces charges related to tax evasion alongside Binance Holdings Limited and Tigran Gambaryan.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had adjourned their case earlier this month after remanding Gambaryan in custody at Kuje Custodian Centre. The charges against them include failure to pay company income tax, nonpayment of value-added tax (VAT), failure to comply with tax return filing obligations, and complicity in aiding users to evade taxes via the Binance platform.