Detained Binance executive escapes from custody in Nigeria.Mr Anjarwalla escaped a day after the Nigerian government slammed a four-count criminal charge on him, Tigran Gambaryan and Binance.

Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of two senior company officials detained by Nigerian authorities amid a broader crackdown on the crypto exchange, escaped from custody in Abuja on 22 March 2024, shortly after Nigeria filed criminal tax charges against him, fellow executive Tigran Gambaryan, and Binance Holdings. Premium Times reports that Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager and a dual British–Kenyan citizen, fled from a government guest house where he was being held after guards escorted him to a nearby mosque for Ramadan prayers; he is believed to have left the country the same day on a Middle Eastern airline using a Kenyan passport, despite his British passport remaining in Nigerian government custody. Anjarwalla and Gambaryan had been detained since 26 February 2024 as part of Nigeria’s investigation into Binance’s role in alleged tax evasion, money laundering, and naira speculation, following a wider regulatory and security push against unregistered crypto platforms. On 22 March, the Federal Inland Revenue Service filed a four‑count criminal case at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Binance Holdings, Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan, alleging failure to register for tax purposes, non‑payment and non‑remittance of value‑added tax and company income tax, failure to issue VAT invoices, and aiding customers in evading Nigerian taxes under the VAT Act, the FIRS Establishment Act, and the Companies Income Tax Act. The Office of the National Security Adviser later confirmed the escape, said Anjarwalla used a “smuggled passport,” and stated that security personnel responsible for his custody had been arrested while Nigerian agencies coordinated with Interpol to seek an international arrest warrant. The incident escalates tensions between Binance and the Nigerian government, raising questions about custodial procedures for high‑profile financial crime suspects and complicating an already sensitive dispute over the regulation of crypto markets and capital flows in Africa’s largest economy. Authorities are now working to trace Anjarwalla’s movements and secure his return, while the tax and broader financial crime cases against Binance and its remaining executive in Nigeria continue to be closely watched by global crypto firms as a signal of enforcement risks in major emerging markets. "entities":["Binance","Binance Holdings Limited","Nadeem Anjarwalla","Tigran Gambaryan","Federal Government of Nigeria","Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)","Office of the National Security Adviser (Nigeria)","Nigerian Immigration Service","Federal High Court Abuja","Naira (Nigerian currency)","Middle East airliner","Value Added Tax Act (Nigeria)","Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act","Companies Income Tax Act"]}`

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