By Emmanuel Nduka
International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has assured that fleeing crypto chief Nadeem Anjarwalla will be smoked out and extradited to Nigeria to face tax evasion charges leveled against him and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, who is still in the custody of security agents in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Vice President of INTERPOL (Africa) Executive Committee, Garba Umar who made this known on Tuesday while speaking as guest on a local television program, said the paper works for Anjarwalla to be returned to Nigeria has commenced imminently.
“INTERPOL will only give information, assist them and inform them about the bilateral agreements and conventions that were signed to extradite a fleeing fugitive and the process is ongoing and Nadeem is not an exception,” the INTERPOL boss said, adding that if a fugitive escapes, there are processes in which that country will follow.
“Be rested assured, we have all the cooperation and we are working on it and definitely, one day, he will be brought to justice, it’s just a matter of time. We have done all the paper works.
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“Now, it is not only morally right but it is legally right for the country to get him apprehended, inform the requesting country that ‘the fugitive you are looking for has been apprehended and is in our custody. Can you come and take him over?
“This is the process. He may be in Kenya, he may be in hiding, he might have even left Kenya but because of the notices we have given, wherever he is, he will be smoked out,” Umar added.
It would be recalled that recently in March, the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) detained Anjarwalla and Gambaryan in relation to alleged speculation against the naira, and for allegedly causing the value of the Nigerian currency to nosedive against the greenback of the United States.
The Nigerian government subsequently approached the court to compel Binance to publish the names of its Nigerian traders but the platform won’t budge.
The President Bola Tinubu-led government also filed tax evasion charges against the platform but the NSA office said Anjarwalla escaped from custody when he observed a Jumat prayer on Friday, March 22, 2024, in Abuja.
The NSA office said Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.
The Nigerian government subsequently launched a manhunt for him, in collaboration with the INTERPOL.
