Binance Executive Detained In Nigeria Escapes Custody (apnews.com) 19
A top executive from the crypto exchange Binance has escaped custody in Nigeria after being arrested for allegedly destabilizing the country's national currency. The Associated Press reports: Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Binance in Africa, "fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport," the office of Nigeria's National Security Adviser said in a statement, calling for "whatever information that can assist law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspect." Anjarwalla, who holds dual British and Kenyan citizenship, had been detained in Nigeria along with another colleague since Feb. 26 when they arrived in the country following a crackdown on the crypto platform. Tigran Gambaryan, the colleague who is an American citizen, remains in captivity.
Nigeria is Africa's largest crypto economy in terms of trade volume with many citizens using crypto to hedge their finances against surging inflation and the declining local currency. Binance stopped all trading with the Nigerian naira currency on its platform in early March after authorities accused it of being used for money laundering and terrorism financing -- without providing evidence publicly. It was not clear how Anjarwalla fled custody. The Abuja-based Premium Times newspaper, which broke the news of his escape, reported that he fled from a guest house in the capital city after guards led him to a nearby mosque for prayers. "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," Zakari Mijinyawa, spokesman for the office of Nigeria's National Security Adviser said in a statement.
Nigeria is Africa's largest crypto economy in terms of trade volume with many citizens using crypto to hedge their finances against surging inflation and the declining local currency. Binance stopped all trading with the Nigerian naira currency on its platform in early March after authorities accused it of being used for money laundering and terrorism financing -- without providing evidence publicly. It was not clear how Anjarwalla fled custody. The Abuja-based Premium Times newspaper, which broke the news of his escape, reported that he fled from a guest house in the capital city after guards led him to a nearby mosque for prayers. "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," Zakari Mijinyawa, spokesman for the office of Nigeria's National Security Adviser said in a statement.
important information left out of the story (Score:5, Funny)
Was in, in fact, a prince? or was he not? I think we've confirmed that he IS actually being persecuted, so that part of the story pans out.
Re: (Score:2)
Wow, you got princes to email you? My messages were mostly from widows of deceased Nigerian military men.
Rich guy escapes (Score:2)
I wonder how that happened
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder why they're saying he was in "custody" if the only thing he needed to escape was another passport. Seems he didn't need to break out of jail first, and was likely in Executive Time Out with some limitations on where he was allowed to go, like Carlos Ghosn. And it seems like he may have been allowed to go to the airport.
Re:Rich guy escapes (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Any country thats poor enough, you can probably bribe your way out.
One of the strongest predictors against corruption is a desparately underpaid police force. Pay the cops well and they are *much* harder to corrupt. Not impossible (There are ways to corrupt a well paid "good" cop, everyone has a price, or something/someone they fear losing.), but its generally much harder.
Tin foil time! (Score:1)
No Eye Deer (Score:5, Funny)
crypto
currency
Nigeria
It was not clear how Anjarwalla fled custody
If only we had some clues.
Re: (Score:2)
You're too specific. What matters is:
> Nigeria
> weak and corrupt law enforcement
> fraud
When painted shells are valuable, fraudsters base their schemes on painted shells. There's even hardly link between this crook and cryptocurrencies at this point, it's just about money. Which equals power. You can have money and power without corruption, but that's not Nigerian way.
Re: (Score:3)
I bet it involved a princely sum to help someone escape Nigeria. It might even be a scam, but in that case it would be the traditional pay us or suffer scam.
Real life imitates Hollywood (Score:2)
Well whaddaya know, "Help me get out of here, I can make it worth your while!" actually works.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm reminded of another executive in Japan where there was like two dozen stories of how he "escaped". Everything from just taking a limo to the airport, to hiding in a huge stereo speaker box in a moving truck, and ever more improbable ways.
If you're not actually held in custody and you're rich enough to hire a private plane, it can be hard to stop you from escaping.
A mail you shall receive soon (Score:4, Funny)
Hello friend,
I am a rich prince from Nigeria and I have to quickly move funds out of this country...
he emailed my grandmother (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
C'mon, you're not even trying.
Three...two... (Score:2)
The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested
Countdown to that personnel escaping custody too...
When *Nigeria* arrests scammers (Score:2)
you know it's one hell of a scam.
Re: (Score:1)
2 Binance Execs were falsely lured to Nigeria.... (Score:4, Insightful)