• Nadeem Anjarwalla was detained in the West African country together with Tigran Gambaryan, the executive of the block chain based in the US.
• They had gone to the country on invitation by the Nigerian government and were seized after a series of meetings with officials.
A British-Kenyan cryptocurrency executive remains in detention in Nigeria despite expiry of an order allowing his holding.
A court order allowing detention is normally given for a certain period of time after which the authorities have to go back and seek an extension. In the absence of such extension the detention becomes illegal under the law.
The detention order given by the Abuja court was for 14 days. It lapsed on March 12.
Nadeem Anjarwalla is in charge of the East and West Africa regions for Binance, a cryptocurrency and block chain.
He was detained in the West African country together with Tigran Gambaryan, the executive of the block chain based in the US.
They had gone to the country on invitation by the Nigerian government and were seized after a series of meetings with officials.
They are detained by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The commission had filed application for fresh detention orders but which were declined by the courts. The court said it will hear the matter on April 5.
The families of the two Binance bosses complain that their plea for release of the duo have fallen on deaf ears and the anxiety they are suffering is beyond comprehension.
They say they have reached out to the respective diplomatic missions of their countries to no avail.
Elahe Anjarwalla, the wife of Nadeem, told the Star her husband continues to be held without meaningful access to doctors and lawyers.
She is apprehensive the situation could deteriorate and a different charge brought against her husband.
Of huge concern to Elahe is that Nadeem has missed the first birthday celebration of their only son, which was on March 21.
“I'm completely heartbroken. I was holding on to the hope that Nadeem would be home in time to celebrate our son’s first birthday and I am devastated this won’t be happening,” she said.
Elahe said they have made it clear to the Nigerian authorities that Nadeem is not that senior at Binance to make critical decisions and he only implements what his bosses have agreed upon.
“Nadeem has no authority to make high-level decisions at Binance and I'm once again asking from the bottom of my heart that the Nigerian authorities please allow him and Tigran to return home while they continue their discussions with Binance,” she said.
The family had notified the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kenyan diplomatic mission in Nigeria and the British foreign office to help.
“I am also calling on the British and Kenyan governments to do more to get Nadeem back home. Please, we just want this nightmare to end.”
Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of the American detainee, said she had no idea a short trip that her husband was to make to Nigeria would not only lengthen by three weeks but also turn into a nightmare.
“Tigran was only supposed to be away from us for a very short trip and now over three weeks later, we have no idea when we will see him again,” she said.
“I don’t know what to tell our two children who rush to the door every time they hear a car, eagerly hoping that their father has finally returned from a very long work trip. Tigran is globally recognised for his work in law enforcement and many of his peers would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts are what keep crypto currencies safe and clean."
"The longer our husbands are away from our families, the harder it is becoming for us to go about our daily lives. We are asking you from the bottom of our hearts and with the deepest respect that you please release them so that our families can be complete once again.”