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Breaking: Binance Director escapes from detention, flees abroad

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Nadeem Anjarwalla, an executive officer with Binance, has escaped from detention and is said to have left the country.

According to a report Monday morning by Premium Times, Mr Anjarwalla escaped a day after the Nigerian government slammed a four-count criminal charge on him.

He is one of the two Binance executives detained in Nigeria for alleged tax evasion and other offences.

Quoting reliable sources, the report said Mr Anjarwalla, 38, escaped on Friday, 22 March, from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers ‘in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan fast.’

The Briton, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.

It remains unclear how Mr Anjarwalla got on an international flight despite his British passport, with which he entered Nigeria, remaining in the custody of the Nigerian authorities.

Authorities are also said to be working to unravel his intended destination in a bid to get him back into custody.

An Immigration official said the Binance executive fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport. He, however, said authorities were trying to determine how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document (apart from the British passport) on him when he was taken into custody.

Another source said the two officials were held at a “comfortable guest house” and allowed many rights, including the use of telephones, a privilege Mr Anjarwalla is believed to have exploited to plot an escape.

When contacted Sunday night on the escape of the Binance executive from detention, the Head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, said he would enquire and revert.

Mr Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on 26 February 2024.

A criminal charge was filed against the two executives before a Magistrate Court in Abuja. On 28 February 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an order to remand the duo for 14 days. The court also ordered Binance to provide the Nigerian government with the data/information of Nigerians trading on its platform.

Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the remand of the officials for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence. The court then adjourned the case till 4 April 2024.

Also on 22 March, the Nigerian government approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and slammed another four-count charge on Binance Holdings Limited, Mr Anjarwalla and Mr Gambaryan, accusing them of offering services to subscribers on their platform while failing to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to pay all relevant taxes administered by the Service and in so doing, committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).

The defendants were also accused of offering taxable services to subscribers on their trading platform while failing to issue invoices to those subscribers to determine and pay their value-added taxes and, in so doing, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under S.29 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as amended).

 

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Crime

UK serial rapist jailed 12 years

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Aiden Phipps, a serial rapist from Sutton, United Kingdom, has been jailed for 12 years and six months for assault and rape of five young girls.

The 18 years old was aged between 15-17 at the time of the attacks on the girls.

Derby Crown Court heard that several of his victims had tried to take their own lives since their ordeals and the youngest victim was aged just 12.

Judge Jonathan Bennett told Phipps he knew “very clearly” that the girls were not consenting to his advances “but that didn’t matter” to him and his victims were “just objects.”

The court heard how Phipps, aged 15 at the time, forcefully raped a 12-year-old girl having pursued her on Snapchat and persuaded her to meet him.

On another occasion in 2023, he “dragged” a girl aged 17 into an abandoned area before having forced intercourse with her.

Prosecutor Dawn Pritchard described how every time Phipps’ victim tried to get up, he “pushed her back down.”

In November last year, another girl aged 17 approached Police about Phipps, telling them he had groped her sexually over her clothing.

Phipps, the court heard, committed several of the offences while already on bail, having been arrested and interviewed by Police for previous ones.

In a statement read out to the court, the mother of one of the girls said since the assault, her daughter had “shut down” and no longer left the house, going into “shock” when she saw a male.

The young girl had tried to take her own life in November 2022, the court heard.

Judge Jonathan Bennett told Phipps he posed a “significant risk of serious harm,” adding: “You have devastated the lives of these five victims and caused what for some will be irreparable damage.

“To hear the effect your offending has had is distressing to all of us who heard it. It has also had a huge impact upon all the families of the victims.

“Even when on bail you continued to offend. That is a particularly aggravating feature. All of these young girls made it absolutely clear to you they did not consent to what was taking place.

“You knew very clearly these young girls were not consenting but that didn’t matter to you – what was important to you was what you wanted.”

The court was told by Phipps’ defence Barrister that he had suffered a “very difficult” childhood having been fostered from the age of four and having been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

However Judge Bennett told Phipps after reading a psychologists’ report he concluded the defendant posed “a significant risk” of committing further similar offences against young girls.

 

 

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Nigerian military kills notorious terrorist Halilu Sububu who trained Bello Turji

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A notorious bandit leader, Halilu Sububu who trained wanted terrorist, Bello Turji has been killed by the Nigerian military.

He was killed in an operation by the Nigerian Air Force, NAF alongside 38 of his foot soldiers.

Sububu and his men were killed in Zamfara state by NAF Special Forces on Thursday, near the Mayanchi area of the state.

The operation, according to a statement by a Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations NAF Headquarters, Group Captain Kabiru Ali, was part of an ongoing effort by NAF and ground forces to “exploit intelligence and secure the area” following contact with the adversaries.

The statement said: “NAF Special Forces of Operation HADARIN DAJI in the company of other ground troops initiated a follow-up exploitation mission after troops encountered terrorists in the vicinity of Mayanchi.

“During the mission, it was confirmed that 38 terrorists had been neutralized, with 4 bodies retrieved for verification.”

Sububu’s death was also confirmed by a lot security analyst and counterterrorism expert, Zagazola Makama.

Posting on X, Zagazola wrote: “Halilu is a notorious bandit kingpin who trained Bello Turji. He commands hundreds of bandits and also engaged in gun running activities. He also engaged in arms trade and owned a House in Niger Republic.

“The killing of Halilu is a biggest blow against the terrorists.”

 

 

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Three killed in Anambra communities

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Three persons have been killed in Nawfi and Enugwu-Ukwu communities of Anambra State.

Many people also sustained varying degrees of injuries inflicted on them by assailants. The incident happened at Isionye, aboundary between the two communities.

People from the Nawfia and Enugwu-Ukwu rushed to the scene of the crime when news broke out about the killing.

Sources claimed that the killing of the three victims may not be unconnected with tussle over Isionye land.

A source who pleaded for anonymity said that Nawfia and Enugwu-Ukwu communities have been on a dagger drawn over the ownership of the land.

Meanwhile, Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam(CP) has ordered investigation into the murder of three persons.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, Tochukwu Ikenga (SP) said that the incident actually happened at about 2pm on Monday.

He confirmed that three persons were killed and five others seriously injured at Isionye land.

The PPRO said that preliminary information, revealed that the victims were lured by some individuals through a phone call to the land in guise of a land transaction and attacked them with guns and matchet.

“Meanwhile, the CP has sued for calm as police operatives have recovered the abandoned Sennia vehicle used by the murders. Also, the testimonies of the injured victims who are currently receiving treatment in the hospital is aiding the investigation while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited in the morgue,” Ikenga said.

 

 

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