The International Criminal Police Organisation for Africa (INTERPOL) reports that all documentation for the extradition of Binance Holdings Limited’s senior executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has been completed.
It further stated that it is now interacting with the Kenyan government, presenting applicable treaties, Memorandums of Understanding, and other documents in order to persuade the Kenyan government to free and return Anjarwalla to Nigeria for trial.
Garba Umar, Vice President of INTERPOL Africa, revealed this on Tuesday while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily broadcast.
Anjarwalla, who was being imprisoned together with his colleague Tigran Gambaryan for money laundering and tax evasion, escaped from the National Security Adviser’s custody on March 22 and fled to Kenya.
The Federal Government claimed that the actions of Binance, a cryptocurrency platform, were harming the Nigerian naira, causing it to decline sharply versus the US dollar and other currencies.
The 38-year-old Briton-Kenyan reportedly escaped after security guards brought him to a local mosque for Ramadan prayers.
He was, however, alleged to have been apprehended last week in Kenya.
“Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla has been arrested by the Kenya Police Service, and he will be extradited to Nigeria this week by INTERPOL,” a government source, who was not authorised to speak on the matter, told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“As we had said before that Anjarwalla would be extradited, he has been arrested in Kenya, and he’ll be extradited to Nigeria this week,” the official added.
Giving an update on the case on Tuesday, the Vice President of Interpol Africa stated that attempts were on to extradite Anjarwalla to Nigeria.
He stated that there was an ongoing dialogue with the Kenyan government.
Umar said, “For every country, there is a law. If a fugitive escapes, there are processes that that country follows up on. INTERPOL will only provide information to assist that country, informing them about the bilateral agreements, the MOU, and the signed conventions for extraditing a fleeing fugitive. The process is ongoing.
“Nadeem is not an exception, and rest assured, we have all the cooperation, and we are working on it. And definitely, one day, he will be brought to justice.
“It is just a matter of time. We have completed all the paperwork. All the law enforcement agencies have completed the paperwork and handed it over to Interpol, which is working on it.”
Umar stated that INTERPOL was doing everything possible to secure the Kenyan government’s help in the extradition of Anjarwalla to Nigeria.
He vowed that sooner or later, the Binance executive would be extradited and tried in Nigeria.
The INTERPOL VP said, “We are now doing everything possible to ensure that the country (Kenya) complies with INTERPOL rules of international police cooperation by initiating the extradition process to bring him back to face justice in Nigeria.”
Speaking about the efforts that led to the Binance chief’s final arrest, Umar stated that as soon as Anjarwalla escaped from detention in Nigeria, INTERPOL activated its networks in 196 countries to seek him down.
He said, “As soon as Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped, INTERPOL was officially informed. We went into action to gather all the data and information about him and share it across 196 countries. We were able to track his movements, know where he was going, and eventually he landed in a particular country.
“Don’t forget, as soon as this individual escaped, there was a massive manhunt for him. We contacted many countries where we believed he might have boarded a plane or travelled by road to another location.
“We obtained certain information that I cannot share on this platform. Rest assured, we located his whereabouts, how he travelled, and gathered all the necessary information to prevent his escape from justice.”
The INTERPOL vice president emphasised the importance of technical breakthroughs in combating international crime, notably cybercrime.
He cited the use of AI and the introduction of Metaverse Retrovirus to strengthen Interpol’s capabilities in combating cybercrime.
