The Kenya Police Service has arrested fleeing Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, as the International Criminal Police Organisation moves to extradite him to Nigeria within the week.
Anjarwalla who escaped from lawful custody in Nigeria in March, was in April tracked down in Kenya by a team comprising operatives drawn from the International Criminal Police Organisation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Kenya Police .
Government sources, who requested anonymity due to lack of authorization
to discuss the matter, confirmed the development to PUNCH on Sunday
night.
Another source noted, “As we had said before that Anjarwalla
would be extradited, he has been arrested in Kenya, and he’ll be
extradited to Nigeria this week.”
Anjarwalla, whose cover has now been blown, went into hiding immediately after he landed in Kenya.
“We have found him. We know where he is; he is in Kenya, and we’re working with the authorities to bring him back to Nigeria.
“All hands are on the deck, the government and all the security agencies are working hard in conjunction with the Kenyan authorities and INTERPOL, to ensure his return to Nigeria to face the charges brought against him,” the report had quoted a source as saying.
Meanwhile, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had in the March edition of its bulletin titled, “EFCC Alert,” onfirmed that the commission was working in conjunction with the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya to extradite Anjarwalla.
Olukoyed said, “The takeover of the prosecution of Binance chiefs by the commission is no less a strong message in the direction of EFCC’s resolve to hedge in distortions and disruptions in the country’s forex market.
“Tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000 and are at the foundation of the Commission’s five counts against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s chief executives.
“While Gambaryan is currently in the Commission’s net, the process of extraditing the fleeing Anjarwalla is revving in full swing. Involved in partnership with the EFCC to nick Anjarwalla in flight are the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya as the clock winds down to his arraignment in absentia alongside the company and Gambaryan.”