The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Enugu Zonal Directorate, has commenced investigations into a 38-year-old man, Raheem Abiodun Wasiu, over an alleged $12,000 fraud involving bureau de change operators.
Wasiu was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) following a complaint by Ezekulie Stanley Chukwuamuanya, a BDC operator, who alleged that the suspect defrauded him of $5,000.
The EFCC said preliminary investigations showed that Wasiu allegedly rented Toyota Hilux trucks, posed as a wealthy contractor and moved around with escorts while targeting BDC operators across the South-East and Akwa Ibom State.
He allegedly collected dollars from his victims before sending fake naira transfer alerts to convince them that payments had been made.
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Chukwuamuanya told investigators that after handing over the $5,000, Wasiu requested his bank details and later claimed that the transfer had gone through.
However, the complainant said he did not receive any alert. He alleged that Wasiu blamed the delay on network problems before leaving and subsequently became unreachable.
Another petitioner, Chief Nwaoha Ubaferem of Owerri, Imo State, 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 Wasiu requested $7,000.
He alleged that after collecting the money, the suspect claimed that the transfer had been completed, but no payment was received.
Further investigation reportedly revealed that Wasiu had operated in several parts of the South-East and Akwa Ibom State, allegedly using the same method to defraud BDC operators.
Items recovered from him include a Toyota Hilux truck, several ATM cards and bank transfer tokens, a digital National Identification Number slip bearing the name Sunday Abiodun, complimentary cards bearing the name Engineer Abiodun, 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 the suspect would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.
