Arrested US finance executive flees Nigeria

An executive of the cryptocurrency firm Binance has escaped from custody in Nigeria. Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national, was arrested with his US colleague Tigran Gambaryan last month. BBC News reports that the Nigerian authorities were investigating their firm. There are unconfirmed reports that Anjarwalla asked the guards at a guest house where he was being held to allow him to go to the mosque last Friday but never returned. The authorities said Anjarwalla has left the country with a ‘smuggled passport’ and they are ‘working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect’. ‘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. The suspects were due to appear again in court early next month. Voice of America reports that Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Services on Monday said Binance had flouted four tax laws by failing to pay company income tax, failing to pay value added tax, not complying with tax return filing obligations and facilitating tax evasion for Binance users. The government also said Binance had failed to register for tax purposes with authorities.