Binance ‘made aware’ of executive who fled Nigeria

Binance is also reportedly facing tax evasion charges from the country

article-image

168 STUDIO/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

An executive detained by Nigeria for weeks escaped custody on Friday. 

Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Africa, was detained in late February alongside Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, Tigran Gambrayan. 

Neither executive has been charged with a crime. A Nigerian court last week decided to postpone a decision on a detention extension until April 5, according to a representative for the executives. 

Binance, in a statement to Blockworks, confirmed that it had been “made aware” that Anjarwalla was 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 said.

Binance told Blockworks in mid-March that it was hoping for a “swift resolution” to the detention of Anjarwalla and Gambrayan. 

Read more: Binance’s woes in Nigeria continue to mount

Bloomberg reported Monday morning that Nigeria also filed tax evasion charges against Binance. According to a statement seen by the publication, Binance was accused of “nonpayment of value-added tax and company income tax, failure to file tax returns and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes” through the platform.

Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service didn’t immediately return a request for comment to confirm the charges. Binance didn’t return a request for comment on the charges.

Nigeria targeted Binance in late February, alleging that $26 billion had been passed through Binance Nigeria, according to the country’s central bank governor. Binance then ended support for the Naira in early March.

Officials in the country previously said that they were weighing fines against the crypto exchange. One official, in an interview with BBC’s pidgin language service, even said that the government was looking at a $10 billion fine. However, Binance told local media that it was not in talks with the government over a fine of that sum.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Nillion_DeSci_Report_Template.png

Research

Nillion’s Monad Integration is poised to catalyze the next phase of DeSci’s evolution by eliminating key privacy bottlenecks. This synergy allows researchers, institutions, and DAOs to exchange sensitive data and insights securely while managing governance and payments onchain.

article-image

Celebrating the wisdom of a diamond-handed Bitcoin Legend

article-image

With the success of RWAs and stablecoins, DePINs could onboard the next wave of crypto users

article-image

Is crypto straying too far from things of value?

article-image

Firedancer and Solana ETFs look less significant than before

article-image

The newly passed House bill amplifies that strategic pivot for the Trump administration, from attempting austerity to running the economy hot

article-image

Unable to secure further funding, the game cycled through three different blockchains and at least five different game engines since 2018