FG Traces Fleeing Binance executive to Kenya

Following his escape from detention in Nigeria, the Federal Government has tracked down Nadeem Anjarwalla, a fleeing executive from Binance, to Kenya.

In response to this development, negotiations to expedite Anjarwalla’s extradition have been intensified by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the International Criminal Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Kenyan Police Service.

Anjarwalla, whose cover has now been blown, went into hiding as soon as he landed in Kenya, according to sources in the Presidency who are monitoring the case.

According to the source, “We have located him. Where is he? We know. We are collaborating with the authorities to return him to Nigeria while he is in Kenya.The first source’s assertion was supported by a second source who was also familiar with the subject.Everybody is on deck, according to the source. In close cooperation with the Kenyan authorities and INTERPOL, the government and all security agencies are making every effort to secure his return to Nigeria so he can answer to the charges against him.

In the meantime, the International Criminal Police Organization, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya, as well as the EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, had confirmed in the March edition of the agency’s bulletin, titled “EFCC Alert,” which was made public last week, that the commission was collaborating with these organizations to extradite Anjarwalla.

Olukoyede stated, “The EFCC’s determination to prevent distortions and disruptions in the nation’s forex market is demonstrated by its takeover of the prosecution of Binance executives.The basis of the commission’s five-count charges against Binance Holdings Limited, its CEOs Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, is tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering totaling $35.4 million.”Although Gambaryan is presently within the commission’s purview, efforts to extradite the fugitive Anjarwalla are underway.”

“As the clock ticks down to his arraignment in absentia alongside the company and Gambaryan, the International Criminal Police Organization, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya are involved in partnership with the EFCC tonick Anjarwalla in flight.”The Federal Government has started the process of extraditing Anjarwalla back to Nigeria due to allegations of $35,400,000 in money laundering, as previously reported.

The process of extraditing Mr. Anjarwalla has commenced. In order to bring the wanted person back to Nigeria, the FG is collaborating with INTERPOL. He is a wanted man who broke out of legal custody; his accomplice is still detained and is scheduled to appear in court with Binance on Thursday, according to a source.”It is true that the FG has started the extradition process of Binance’s Anjarwalla to bring him back to Nigeria to answer to his money laundering case in court, among others,” disclosed a different source.

The court appearance of Binance and Gambaryan on Thursday would facilitate Anjarwalla’s extradition as well.In the meantime, our correspondent received confirmation from a top security source working on the case that special investigators from the Department of State Services, Police, EFCC, and National Intelligence Agency were questioning the soldiers assigned to keep an eye on Anjarwalla.All hands are on deck because this is a matter of national security, the source said. “The soldiers detailed to monitor Anjarwalla have been detained as you know, and they are still being grilled by special investigators drawn from various security and intelligence agencies and services—the military, DSS, NIA, and the police—all hands are on deck.” On Thursday, April 4, the EFCC charged Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, two of Binance Holdings Limited’s senior executives who are currently at large, with money laundering.

In addition to arresting Mr. Gambaryan, the EFCC—which has now fully assumed control of the case from the Office of the National Security Adviser—has also secured a court warrant for the arrest and extradition of Mr. Anjarwalla.Immaculate sources confirmed the development to our correspondent on Friday, stating that Mr. Anjarwalla, Binance, and Mr. Gambaryan—who is currently being held by the EFCC—will be arraigned in absentia.The EFCC now has the detained Binance executive, Gambaryan, under custody. The EFCC will be conducting an investigation and pursuing legal action on behalf of the NSA. According to a source, Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla will be arraigned in court on Thursday, April 4, 2024, after the commission charges them with $35,400,000 in money laundering.

Another source revealed, “The EFCC is now partnering with the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Kenyan government, to effect the arrest and extradition of Mr Anjarwalla, the fugitive who fled from lawful custody in Nigeria.

”The Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja division, received the charges on Thursday, March 28, 2024, according to court documents that were exclusively obtained.The charges read, “That you, Binance Holdings Limited (aka Binance) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court carried on specialised business of other financial institution without valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 57 (1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial, Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under section 57(5) of the same Act.

“Count two, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (aka Binance) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), between January 2022 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court engaged in business of other financial institution (other than insurance, stock broking and pension fund management) without valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 58(5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.

“Count three, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (aka Binance) between January 2022 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court not being an authorized dealer in Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market used your virtual asset services platform to unlawfully negotiate foreign exchange rates in Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 29(1) (c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring And Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.“Count four, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (aka Binance), Tigran Gambaryan, Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large), and other persons at large between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to conceal the origin of the proceeds of your unlawful activities and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 21 (a) and punishable under section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“Count five, that you, Binance Holdings Limited (“aka Binance”) Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla between January 2023 and December 2023 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court concealed the origin of a cumulative sum of $35,400,000 generated as revenue by Binance in Nigeria knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and prohibition) Act, 2022.”

Also on March 22, the Nigerian government approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and slammed another four-count charge on Binance Holdings Limited, Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan, accusing them of offering services to subscribers on their platform while failing to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to pay all relevant taxes administered by the service.And in so doing, they committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).

The defendants were also accused of offering taxable services to subscribers on their trading platform while failing to issue invoices to those subscribers to determine and pay their value-added taxes and, in so doing, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under S.29 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as amended).

Count three of the charges accused the three defendants of offering services to subscribers on their Binance trading platform for the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and the remittance and transfer of those assets while failing to deduct the necessary Value Added Taxes arising from their operations and thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act 2007 (as amended).

According to the last count of the charges, the defendants should be punished for allegedly encouraging users of their Binance trading platform to illegally withhold taxes or fail to pay them, which is against the law and subject to punishment under S.94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).