The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sokoto zonal office, has arrested a suspect, Emmanuel Adedeji Oluatosin, 31, identified in an ongoing computer intrusion investigation in the United States. The EFCC Head of the zone, Abdullahi Lawal, while parading the suspect in Sokoto yesterday described the arrest as a big success. He explained that the suspect was arrested after being traced to a luxury house located in Kaduna believed to proceed of fraud.
Lawal added that the suspect and his accomplices, both in Nigeria and overseas, acquired Retirement Account Information (RAI) and Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of multiple victims. “The information was then used to fraudulently wire funds into newly created business bank accounts tied to the fraudulently created business. The proceeds were then converted into cryptocurrency, Bitcoin precisely.
The suspect and his cohorts are identified in an ongoing computer intrusion investigation in the United States. Lawal listed items recovered from his residence to include one unit of E550 Mercedes Benz and one unit of C450 Mercedes Benz, iPhone, laptops, modem, and SIM cards, all believed to be proceeds of fraud. He said the preliminary investigation had so far revealed that about N1,437,889,157.15 passed through the suspect’s bank accounts, adding that the Commission has also traced N70,000,000.00 he invested somewhere while efforts are on to recover the money.
In a related development, the zonal head said the Commission has arrested a wanted suspect, Muzakri, through one of its sister agencies in connection with an alleged case of obtaining money under false pretenses and production of fake currencies. He said the suspect was reported by one of his victims, Abdullahi Ibrahim after he had defrauded another victim, a Bureau de Change operator to the tune of $33,850.
“Meanwhile, the first complainant, Ibrahim, alleged that Muzakri collected N2,350,000 from him on the pretext of producing $100,000 for him, which he neither produced nor refunded the Naira equivalent given to him. “However, a search was conducted at his house and several incriminating items which the suspect used in luring and defrauding his victims were found therein.
The house was marked by operatives of the Commission.
“His method is to make his victims believe that he possesses some form of supernatural abilities to communicate with spirits, while in the actual sense of it, they are just some classic tricks he uses to deprive them of their hard earnings,”
he said.
The Commission also paraded four local government officials who defrauded civil servants on the payroll by deducting irregular amount of monies from their salaries through State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) since 2013. He noted that all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.
