Arjarwalla is currently being brought to Nigeria by the Nigerian government in cooperation with Interpol and the Kenyan Police so that he may answer to the accusations made against him.
Following his release from detention, Nadeem Arjarwalla, the CEO of Binance, fled to Kenya, and the Nigerian government has now tracked him down and is pursuing extradition. Punch, a local media outfit, reported that Arjarwalla went into hiding after arriving in Kenya, but that he has now had his cover blown by sources in the Presidency. This might usher in a new phase of the story while the nation attempts to extradite the Binance executive.
Presently, the Nigerian government is working with foreign law enforcement organisations such as Interpol and the Kenyan Police to bring Arjarwalla to Nigeria so he may answer to accusations made against him.
Following allegations that the exchange had manipulated the naira, the nation’s fiat currency, Gambaryan travelled to Nigeria in February with Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla. Following a discussion regarding Binance’s regulatory issues with the Nigerian government, Arjarwalla and another official from Binance were placed under arrest.
The investigation was transferred from the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the county’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). The exchange and its two officials were hit with five charges that had potential to involve money laundering by the anti-graft agency. But according to reports, Anjarwalla managed to get out of detention on March 22 and board a plane to leave the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Anjarwalla is said to have taken a Middle Eastern carrier flight out of Abuja. His British passport, which he used to enter Nigeria, is still being held by Nigerian authorities, so it’s unknown how he was able to board the international aircraft. An immigration official stated that the Binance executive left Nigeria using a Kenyan passport. While in detention, Anjarwalla lacked any additional travel documentation, thus authorities are currently investigating how he obtained the passport.
Gambaryan entered a not guilty plea to the allegations against him, and after spending several weeks in custody, his wife and other supporters called for his release. Arjarwalla is still outside the nation. A petition started by Gambaryan’s wife asking for his return to the United States had 3,373 signatures as of the time of publication. Gambaryan’s case, however, has been postponed until April 19.
On March 5, Binance declared its intention to stop accepting naira transactions, so pulling out of the market for users in Nigeria. Additionally, Binance stated that in late February, all NGN trading pairs were removed from Binance’s peer-to-peer platform. The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria made an argument on February 27 that cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Nigeria were maybe involved in illegal activities. The governor also mentioned “suspicious flows” of monies at Binance.