Nigerian police chief Abba Kyari wanted in US over fraud
A top Nigerian police officer is wanted by a court in the United States to answer fraud charges.
This is of an accomplice in a multi-million con game mentioned him in a crime involving a Kenyan and several Nigerians.
Abba Kyari, 46, is currently the deputy commissioner of police in Nigeria, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations was ordered on Wednesday to bring him to court after details emerged he had played a role in which the public was conned money.
The police boss was named by Ramon Abbas, also known Hushpuppi, a Nigerian influencer. Abbas had appeared before a US court as the kingpin in the case. Abbas was arrested in Dubai and repatriated to the US earlier this month.
Pleaded guilty
Abbas has since pleaded guilty to the charges of money laundering and conspiring with five others to defraud a businessperson by claiming to be consultants and bankers who could facilitate a loan to finance the construction of a school in Qatar.
Mr Otis Wright of the District Court for the Central District of California ordered FBI to produce Mr Kyari.
The five accomplices named in court papers were Abdulrahman Juma from Kenya, 28, Chibuzo Vincent from Nigeria, 40, Yusuf Anifowoshe, 26, Rukayat Fashola, 28, and Bolatito Agbabiaka, 34.
Abbas is said to have used Kyari to hunt down Vincent who had threatened to expose the deals after a dispute broke out among the team on payment.
Vincent, who threatened to expose the $1.1 million fraud to the Qatari businessman, was later tracked and arrested by Kyari on the instruction of Abbas.
“According to the affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria police force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest and detention in Nigeria.
“Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment,” the US statement read.
Notorious fraudster
Abbas, 37, declared as a notorious fraudster, in a plea agreement document he personally signed, pleaded guilty to the charges including money laundering, wire fraud, felony amongst others.
A statement by the Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office, Central District of California said: “Court documents outline a dispute among members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the victim and claim that Abbas (Hushpuppi) and Juma were engaged in fraud."
A version of Abbas’ plea agreement filed late on July 27, 2021, outlines his role in the school-finance scheme, as well as several other cyber and business email compromise schemes that cumulatively caused more than $24 million in losses.
“The defendants allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari school by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretense going after the victim was tipped off,” said Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison.
According to the indictment, Abbas was assisted in laundering the proceeds of the fraud by Rukayat Motunraya Fashola, alias “Morayo,” 28, of Valley Stream, New York, and Bolatito Tawakalitu Agbabiaka, alias “Bolamide,” 34, of Linden, New Jersey; who have arrested on July 22 by FBI agents.
Approximately $230,000 of the stolen funds were allegedly used to purchase a Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which was hand-delivered to Abbas in Dubai.
Other illicit proceeds from the scheme were allegedly converted into cashier’s checks, including $50,000 in checks that were used by Abbas and a co-conspirator to fraudulently acquire a St. Christopher and Nevis citizenship, as well as a passport for Abbas obtained by creating a false marriage certificate and then bribing a government official in St. Kitts.
“Abbas, who played a significant role in the scheme, funded his luxurious lifestyle by laundering illicit proceeds generated by con artists who use increasingly sophisticated means. In conjunction with our law enforcement partners, we will identify and prosecute perpetrators of business email compromise scams, which is a massive and growing international crime problem,” Ms Wilkison said.
“Mr. Abbas, among the most high-profile money launderers in the world, has admitted to his significant role in perpetrating global BEC fraud, a scheme currently plaguing Americans,” said Kristi K. Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
“His celebrity status and ability to make connections seeped into legitimate organizations and led to several spin-off schemes in the U.S. and abroad.’’
Johnson added that the announcement of the deals is a crucial blow to the international network and hopefully serves as a warning to potential victims targeted with this type of theft.
In his response to the allegation, Kyari took to his Facebook page on July 29, 2021, to dispute the claim, explaining that ``Abbas, who we later came to know as Hushpuppi, called our office about 2 years ago that somebody in Nigeria seriously threatened to kill his family here in Nigeria and he sent the person’s phone number and pleaded we take action before the person attacks his family’’.
Referring to Vincent, he said: ``We traced and arrested the suspect and after investigations, we discovered there wasn’t an actual threat to anyone’s life And they are long-time friends who have money issues between them hence we released the Suspect on bail to go and he was not taken to any jail.
``Nobody demanded a kobo from Abbas Hushpuppi. Our focus was to save people’s lives that were purported to have been threatened.
Later, he saw some of my native clothes and caps on my social media page and he said he likes them and he was connected to the person selling the clothes and he sent about N300k directly to the person’s account. The native clothes and caps (5 sets) were brought to our office and he sent somebody to collect them.
``Nobody demanded any money from Abbas Hushpuppi and nobody collected any money from him.’’
``For those who are celebrating that this is an indictment on us and mentioning some fictitious big money, They will be disappointed once again as our hands are clean and our record of Service for 2 decades is open for everybody to see. They will continue seeing us serving our fatherland and we will continue responding to ALL distress Calls from ALL Nigerians provided they are life-threatening.’’ BY DAILY NATION
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