Kenyan Binance Executive Nadeem Anjarwalla Not Yet Arrested, Police Say

Contrary to reports largely in Nigerian publications, Nadeem Anjarwalla the Binance Executive who escaped from the custody has not been arrested.

While the news of his arrest has been heavily publicized in Nigeria and other tech blogs, police in Kenya have denied making such arrests.

The National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson Resila Onyango has confirmed to the media that they’re unaware of the allegations.

Nigerian publication PUNCH had made the initial claim which has since been debunked.

According to sources close to the investigation, the senior Binance executive who escaped Nigerian captivity in March 25 has been confirmed to being in Nairobi but not arrested.

A source speaking to Kenya Insights say the Nigerian authorities strategically leaked the rumors on various crypto websites in a calculated move to pile pressure on Kenya to make arrest and eventual extradition.

The Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been conducting investigations into Mr. Anjarwalla’s whereabouts together with Interpol and the Kenya Police Service.

The extradition process in Kenya is a lengthy process and can’t be hurried, perhaps this could explain the pressure.

Nigerian authorities acknowledged this in their report to PUNCH, “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,” one source disclosed.

“All hands are on deck, and the government and security agencies are collaborating closely with Kenyan authorities and INTERPOL to ensure his expeditious return to Nigeria to face the charges against him,” the reports citing unnamed Nigerian officials said.

Anjarwalla, along with Binance Holdings Limited and Tigran Gambaryan, faces charges including tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering amounting to $35.4 million.

While Gambaryan is already in custody, efforts to extradite Anjarwalla are reportedly underway in collaboration with various international law enforcement agencies and governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya.

Extradition process in Kenya

Kenya will normally extradite persons of interests to a country that they share a treaty with.

In 2021, a Nigerian national Nnamdi Kanu was arrested in Nairobi on the request of Nigeria to face terrorism charges and was eventually extradited.

Being a Kenyan citizen, Mr. Anjarwalla’s extradition is different and if he were to be arrested, the law allows him to exhaust all the avenues.