Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance's Regional Manager for Africa of British-Kenyan dual nationality, has used his Kenyan passport to escape from detention in Nigeria.
This comes as Nigerian authorities have initiated criminal proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing the Binance of tax evasion, as reported by local news sources.
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Anjarwalla and his colleague Tigran Gambaryan, who oversees financial crime compliance at Binance, were apprehended by Nigerian law enforcement in late February following a criminal complaint that led to their initial detention and a subsequent 14-day remand by an Abuja magistrate court.
The executive reportedly escaped when the security personnel on duty allowed him to visit a nearby mosque to pray, respecting the Ramadan fasting period.
He is said to have left the country aboard a Middle East airline flight from Abuja using his Kenyan passport. Nigerian authorities still hold his official British passport.
This incident raises questions about the detention conditions, as the executives were allegedly staying at a comfortable guest home and were allowed many privileges, including cell phone use, which the Anjarwalla may have exploited to plan his escape.
Nigerian authorities have also recently demanded that Binance comply with a request to grant access to the data of the platform's Nigerian users.
As the situation unfolds, stakeholders are keenly watching how Binance navigates these legal hurdles and what it means for its operations in Nigeria and globally.
