Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A politician in Kogi State, Mr Ismaila Atumeyi, has been apprehended by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with N326 million and $140,500 cash recovered from him.
The suspect is the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the Kogi State House of Assembly election in 2023. He intends to represent Ankpa 11 Constituency in the state parliament.
According to the EFCC, the politician was apprehended on Sunday, October 30, 2022, alongside one Joshua Dominic, an alleged serial fraudster, in a sting operation at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana, Gwarinpa, Abuja.
Also arrested in connection with the fraud was Abdumalik Salau Femi, a former bank employee, who allegedly supplied the inside information that facilitated the attack on the bank by the syndicate.
He was picked up on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos, with $470,000 recovered from his home in Morgan Estate, Ojodu, Lagos, after a search.
The arrest of the suspects followed months of investigation into the hacking of one of the commercial banks by a syndicate of fraudsters who pulled off a heist of N1.4 billion.
The syndicate allegedly moved N887 million into the account of Fav Oil and Gas Limited, from where the monies were paid to several Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators and some auto dealers for exchange into United States Dollars and purchase of high-end cars.
Dominic, who has severally been arrested for fraud, allegedly helped Atumeyi perfect the hacking plan through Abdumalik.
Dominic, a self-styled investment expert and managing director of Brisk Capital Limited, was arrested in May 2021 by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police for an alleged N2 billion investment scam. He allegedly defrauded over 500 persons in a phoney investment scheme.
Two Range Rover Luxury SUVs were also recovered from the two suspects arrested in Abuja.
