The lawsuit filed by Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager of Binance, has been dismissed by the Nigerian High Court, as reported by local media outlets. Anjarwalla had accused Nigerian government agencies of violating his fundamental rights by detaining him and seizing his passport.
On June 19, Judge Inyang Ekwo ruled in favor of dismissing Anjarwalla’s suit against the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) citing “want of diligent prosecution.” Neither Anjarwalla nor the respondents had legal representation present in the court.
Anjarwalla, through his lawyer Tonye Krukrubo, filed the suit on March 28, seeking to declare the actions of the agencies as illegal. Krukrubo requested to withdraw from the case at the same time it was filed, allowing Anjarwalla to seek new representation. Anjarwalla was not in court as he had already escaped and fled to Kenya. The court postponed the proceedings until June 19 for Anjarwalla to find new legal representatives.
In his lawsuit, Anjarwalla alleged that the government agencies violated specific sections of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution. The conflict arose when Anjarwalla and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, were detained on February 26. Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, had come to Nigeria to defend the company against charges of tax evasion and money laundering.
The tensions between the United States and Nigeria escalated due to the cases against Binance. Gambaryan also filed a lawsuit against the NSA and EFCC on similar grounds separately from Anjarwalla. His case is scheduled for a hearing on July 9 with Krukrubo representing him.
Anjarwalla, who holds dual British and Kenyan citizenship, currently remains in Kenya while Nigeria pursues his extradition. The situation highlights the increasing focus of U.S. enforcement agencies on combating crypto-related crimes.