In a dramatic turn of events, one of the two Binance executives detained in Nigeria has reportedly escaped custody, coinciding with the Nigerian government’s announcement of new tax evasion charges against the global cryptocurrency exchange, CNBC said in a report.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria disclosed on Monday that four fresh charges related to tax evasion had been filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, as per local media reports.
Binance is facing allegations of non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and company income tax, failure to submit tax returns, and complicity in assisting customers to evade taxes through its platform, according to the reports.
Accompanying the company, two senior executives, U.S. citizen Tigran Gambaryan and British-Kenyan Nadeem Anjarwalla, were both charged and held in custody by Nigerian authorities.
Reports surfaced over the weekend indicating that Anjarwalla had escaped on Friday from the Abuja guest house where the duo was detained.
“We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees, and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue,” a Binance spokesperson informed CNBC.
According to Reuters, Nigeria is in discussions with Interpol to secure an international arrest warrant for Anjarwalla.
The families of the detained executives refrained from commenting at present but released statements on March 20 following a hearing where Nigerian authorities extended their detainment.
Expressing her distress, Anjarwalla’s wife, Elahe Anjarwalla, lamented that her husband would not be present to celebrate their son’s first birthday. She appealed to the Nigerian authorities, urging them to allow Anjarwalla and Gambaryan to return home while continuing discussions with Binance. She also called upon the British and Kenyan governments to aid in Anjarwalla’s return.
Similarly, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, expressed her dilemma in explaining her husband’s absence to their children, emphasizing his contributions to law enforcement and the crypto industry.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were apprehended in Nigeria on February 26, initially without any charges. The Nigerian government accused their employer of adversely impacting the country’s local currency.
Nigeria’s national currency, the naira, has witnessed significant depreciation against the U.S. dollar, prompting citizens to turn to cryptocurrencies to safeguard their savings from economic instability.
However, Nigeria’s concerns regarding Binance revolve around alleged financial malpractices, including money laundering and speculation on the naira’s value through the exchange’s peer-to-peer marketplace.
The Nigerian government asserted that Binance facilitated the movement of $26 billion in untraceable funds and colluded with traders to manipulate the naira’s exchange rate through its platform.
In response to these allegations, Binance has shut down its peer-to-peer trading platform in Nigeria.
This recent development marks another chapter in the ongoing saga between Binance and Nigerian authorities, following a previous warning from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2023, cautioning against dealing with the exchange due to associated risks of total investment loss.
