Nigeria has taken legal action against cryptocurrency platform Binance, alleging tax evasion and seeking an international arrest warrant for the company’s regional manager for Africa, who fled custody last week, officials confirmed on Monday.
The manager, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national, was detained as part of an ongoing investigation into Binance’s operations in Nigeria. Following his escape on Friday, Nigeria’s security adviser’s office revealed that they are collaborating with Interpol to locate him.
Binance acknowledged Anjarwalla’s departure from Nigerian custody and stated that they are cooperating with authorities to address the situation.
Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, traveled to Nigeria after the country banned several cryptocurrency trading websites. They were detained upon arrival on February 26. Efforts to reach them have been unsuccessful.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the detention order for Anjarwalla and Gambaryan expired on March 12. An individual representing them, speaking anonymously, claimed that Anjarwalla lawfully left Nigeria after being held “unlawfully” and without facing trial or being informed of charges against him.
Nigerian authorities reportedly sought an extension of the detention for the two Binance executives after the initial warrant expired.
Additionally, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) filed a case in Abuja on Monday, accusing Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, of four counts of tax evasion. The charges include non-payment of VAT, company income tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in facilitating tax evasion among its customers.
