Nigerian media outlets have reported that government officials are expecting Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance executive who fled the country while in authorities' custody, to be returned to the country within the week.
A spokesperson for Anjarwalla's wife told CoinDesk that reports of the executive's arrest in Kenya and his extradition are false.

The wife of Nadeem Anjarwalla, an executive at Binance who was caught in the crypto exchange's scuffle with Nigeria, has denied reports of his arrest in Kenya and subsequent extradition back to Nigeria.

Nigerian authorities have found Anjarwalla in Kenya and are working with Kenyan authorities to bring the executive back to the country, Nigeria’s Daily Post reported last week, citing government sources. Nigerian newspaper The Punch reported on Monday, citing unnamed government sources, that Anjarwalla could be returned to Nigeria within the week via the international criminal police organization (INTERPOL).

However, a spokesperson for Anjarwalla's wife has dismissed the Punch report of his arrest as false.

CoinDesk has reached out to INTERPOL, Kenya’s foreign ministry and Nigeria’s police force for comment.

Anjarwalla was detained alongside another Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, in February, as Nigerian authorities accused the crypto exchange of manipulating the local exchange rate, tax evasion and money laundering.

Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national, reportedly fled the country in March using a concealed Kenyan passport. Gambaryan, still in Nigeria, pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges during an April court appearance.

UPDATE (April 22, 13:10 UTC): Updates headline and story with the statement from a spokesperson for Anjarwalla's wife.

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Sandali Handagama

Sandali Handagama is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for policy and regulations, EMEA. She is an alumna of Columbia University's graduate school of journalism and has contributed to a variety of publications including The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Nation and Popular Science. Sandali doesn't own any crypto and she tweets as @iamsandali

Nikhilesh De

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.