The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced investigations into a 38-year-old man, Raheem Abiodun Wasiu, over an alleged $12,000 fraud involving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the South-East.

Wasiu was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) following a complaint from Ezekulie Stanley Chukwuamuanya, a BDC operator who alleged that the suspect defrauded him of $5,000.

According to the EFCC, preliminary investigations by operatives of its Enugu Zonal Directorate revealed that Wasiu allegedly rented Toyota Hilux trucks, presented himself as a wealthy contractor, moved with escorts and targeted BDC operators.

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The anti-graft agency alleged that the suspect used fake naira bank transfer alerts to convince BDC operators that payments had been made after collecting their United States dollars.

Chukwuamuanya, in his petition, alleged that he handed $5,000 to Wasiu after the suspect requested his bank details and appeared to initiate a transfer.

“I gave him the dollar and he counted it by himself. After confirmation, he then asked for my bank details. After giving him my account number, he mentioned my name that popped up on his bank application, I confirmed it,” he said.

According to the petitioner, Wasiu subsequently claimed that the transfer had gone through, but no alert was received.

“The next thing he told me was that it had gone through, which I waited for the alert to come, to no avail,” Chukwuamuanya alleged.

He said the suspect later asked him to leave, claiming that the money would arrive and that the delay could have been caused by network problems, but allegedly became unreachable afterwards.

Another petitioner, Chief Nwaoha Ubaferem of Owerri, Imo State, also alleged that Wasiu defrauded him of $7,000 using a similar method.

Ubaferem said he initially had $2,600 and contacted his office to provide an additional $4,400 after the suspect requested $7,000.

He alleged that after meeting the suspect and handing over the money, Wasiu claimed to have completed the transfer, but the expected payment alert did not arrive.

The EFCC said further investigations indicated that the suspect had allegedly operated in different parts of the South-East and Akwa Ibom State, using a similar pattern to target BDC operators.

Items recovered from the suspect include a Toyota Hilux truck with registration number KTR 379 AA, various bank ATM cards, different bank transfer tokens, a digital National Identification Number slip bearing the name Sunday Abiodun and two complimentary cards bearing the name Engineer Abiodun.

Other recovered items include an Emporio Armani designer bag, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a Samsung phone, a 4G pocket Wi-Fi, a Patek Philippe wristwatch, vehicle documents, a gold bangle and a pair of Alexander McQueen shoes.

The EFCC said Wasiu would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.

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