BY Fredrick Nwabufo
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested two suspected fraudsters who allegedly defrauded a foreign investor of the sum of $7.9m, the agency’s spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said on Tuesday.
Uwujaren said the fraudsters, Mr Victor Uadiale and Captain Nnaji Everest (a pilot), were arrested separately in connection with the scam.
“Uadiale, the principal suspect, is the arrowhead of an international syndicate versed in defrauding international businessmen seeking investment opportunities in Nigeria,” Uwujaren revealed.
“He allegedly invited the investor, a businessman from the Middle East, to invest in the flourishing oil sector in Nigeria. Using a pseudo name, Victor Emeka, he made the investor visit Nigeria and received him at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja and thereafter flew him in a helicopter to a destination where he reportedly met a certain Mr Grant, a member of the syndicate, who assured him of the credibility of the business arrangement.
“Convinced that Uadiale was real and the business promising, the investor started paying money in foreign currency into Uadiale’s offshore accounts where they are laundered into various bank accounts around the globe. A sum of $ 1.2m was traced to a Barclay’s Bank (United Kingdom) account of Captain Nnaji Everest, a member of Uadiale’s syndicate.
“The sum of N1.6m plus, N1. 2m plus, £894.79 and $275.30 were traced to Uadiale’s accounts with one of the new generation banks in Nigeria and another £391.93 to another local bank.”
The EFCC spokesman disclosed that in the course of investigation, Uadiale denied meeting or transacting any business with the foreign investor.
“He was, however, nailed by a business associate of the investor who identified him as the fraudster that duped the investor and led operatives of the EFCC to the private residence of Uadiale in Festac Town, Lagos,” he said, adding that both Uadiale and Everest would soon be charged to court.”
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