The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on Monday confirmed the escape of Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance regional manager for Africa, from lawful custody.
Grassroots Parrot had earlier reported how Anjarwalla reportedly escaped from custody.
In February, the Federal Government detained the two senior executives of Binance.
Their arrest came amidst efforts by the government to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The charges against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.
Anjarwalla, on Friday, reportedly escaped from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were being held, Premium Times reports.
He was said to have escaped after some guards on duty escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers.
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The British national, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, is suspected to have departed Abuja via a Middle East airline.
How Anjarwalla boarded an international flight despite his British passport, which he used to enter Nigeria, being held by Nigerian authorities remains unclear.
Premium Times reports that authorities are also working to unravel his intended destination to get him back into custody.
An Immigration official said the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport.
The official disclosed that the authorities are working on unravelling how he obtained the passport, given the fact that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was arrested.
According to another insider, the two officials were detained in a “pleasant guest house” and granted numerous privileges, such as access to telephones. Anjarwalla is suspected to have taken advantage of this opportunity to plan his escape.
However, confirming the development in a statement on Monday, Head of strategic communication at ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, said “preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled using a smuggled passport.”
The statement however confirmed the arrest of some officials who were in charge of the suspects before one of them escaped.
“The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention,” the statement said.
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Also, on Monday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced that it has filed a four-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja bordering on tax evasion against Binance and its two executives, one of which is Anjarwalla.
