The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has dismantled a cross-border fraud syndicate and arrested a fake World Bank official following actionable intelligence received from the East Africa Sub-Sahara Africa Safe Promotion Foundation, a registered NGO in Nairobi, Kenya. The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspect had falsely represented himself as an official of the World Bank and other US-based donor partners.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the complainants, relying on the fraudulent claims, transferred a total of $250,000 over three years for purported registration and administrative fees meant to unlock donor funding. No funding was ever secured. Instead, the suspect organised sham symposiums in Nigeria and South Africa. In 2024, he further induced the victims to secure a bank loan against their family property to access a non-existent $850,000 empowerment fund in Ghana.
Placid said investigation and financial analysis had confirmed substantial inflows from the Kenyan victims, including $57,975 between February and July 2023. The suspect was arrested on March 31, and his entity, Black Diamond African Beauty Restoration Foundation, was found unregistered in Nigeria. The suspect had promptly registered United African Continent Limited in November 2024 to legitimise his illicit activities. Further findings indicated that he had extended his fraudulent scheme to local farmers in Kuje Area Council, collecting N50,000 each under the guise of empowerment and capacity building.
In a related development, operatives of the cybercrime centre on April 3 arrested a suspect following a complaint by Lex Excellentia on behalf of Mr Emmanuel Enwelu of NewLife Ventures Makurdi. The suspect, a former employee of the organisation, was accused of unauthorised modification of computer systems, cybersquatting, and diversion of funds. He confessed to having used his personal bank accounts to receive customer payments intended for the company. One Samsung A6 Plus mobile phone, NIN paper slip and NIN digital slip were recovered from the suspect.
