The Nigerian Government has located Binance executive Nadeem Arjarwalla in Kenya after his escape from custody and is working to extradite him back to Nigeria. Sources from within the Nigerian presidency revealed that Arjarwalla went into hiding upon his arrival in Kenya.
The Nigerian government is collaborating with Interpol and Kenyan police to facilitate Arjarwalla’s return to Nigeria to face charges related to allegations of currency manipulation involving the Nigerian naira. Arjarwalla and another Binance executive were detained in Nigeria in February after a meeting with Nigerian authorities.
Arjarwalla reportedly escaped custody on March 22 and departed from Abuja on a Middle East airline. It remains unclear how he boarded the international flight, as his United Kingdom passport, used for entry into Nigeria, is still held by Nigerian authorities. Immigration officials are investigating how Arjarwalla obtained a Kenyan passport to flee the country.
While Arjarwalla remains abroad, the other detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Gambaryan’s wife and supporters have launched a petition for his release, garnering thousands of signatures. However, Gambaryan’s case has been adjourned until April 19.
Binance announced its decision to halt all naira transactions on March 5, effectively withdrawing from the Nigerian market. This move followed concerns raised by the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding suspected illicit activities and “suspicious flows” of funds at Binance, leading to the delisting of all naira trading pairs on Binance’s peer-to-peer platform in late February.
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