Extradition Process Initiated for Binance Executive Traced to Kenya

Nadeem Arjarwalla, an executive at Binance, has been located in Kenya by the Nigerian government after escaping custody, and efforts are underway to extradite him back to Nigeria. According to sources within the Nigerian presidency, Arjarwalla went into hiding upon arriving in Kenya. The Nigerian government is working with Interpol and Kenyan police to bring him back to Nigeria to face charges related to allegations of manipulating the Nigerian naira, the country’s fiat currency. Arjarwalla had arrived in Nigeria in February and was detained alongside another Binance executive during a meeting with the Nigerian government. The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is leading the investigation and has charged the exchange and its executives with five counts of money laundering. However, Arjarwalla managed to escape custody on March 22 and left Nigeria on a flight from Abuja. He reportedly flew out on a Middle East airline, but it is unclear how he was able to board the flight without his UK passport, which was still in the custody of Nigerian authorities. Authorities are now investigating how Arjarwalla obtained a Kenyan passport, as he had no other travel documents while in custody. Meanwhile, the other Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, pleaded not guilty to the charges and his case has been adjourned until April 19. Binance had previously announced its decision to stop all naira transactions and delisted all naira trading pairs on its peer-to-peer platform. The Nigerian government has accused Binance of mismanagement and suspected illicit transactions.