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.
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