The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal Directorate, has launched investigations into the activities of a 38-year-old man, Raheem Abiodun Wasiu, over an alleged $12,000 fraud involving operators of the Bureau de Change, BDC.
An EFCC statement said Wasiu is being investigated over allegations that he defrauded BDC operators by allegedly posing as a wealthy contractor and using fake bank alerts to convince them that payments had been made after collecting their foreign currency.
The suspect was arrested by officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, following a complaint by Ezekulie Stanley Chukwuamuanya, a BDC operator who alleged that Wasiu defrauded him of $5,000.
According to the EFCC, preliminary investigations showed that Wasiu allegedly rented different Toyota Hillux trucks, presented himself as a wealthy contractor and moved with escorts before meeting BDC operators in some parts of the South-East.
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The Commission alleged that after collecting money from his victims, Wasiu presented fake naira payment alerts to make them believe that the required transfers had been completed.
“I gave him the dollar and he just counted it. After confirming it, he asked me for my bank details. After giving him my account number, he mentioned my name that appeared on his banking application, I confirmed it. The next thing he told me was that it had happened, which I waited for the alert to come, to no avail. Due to lack of time, he asked me to come and that he would get it, that it could be a network problem, and I left because of his personality,” Chukwuamuanya. counted.
He alleged that the suspect became unreachable shortly after the incident.
Another petitioner, Chief Nwaoha Ubaferem, who resides in Owerri, Imo State, also alleged that Wasiu defrauded him of $7,000.
“The dollar he had on him was $2,600, then I called my office to bring me an additional $4,400 to complete it as he requested $7,000. While we were waiting, he complained that he was late and we decided to move to Royce Road from Port Harcourt Road where he finally collected the money from me, resumed the transfer, called my name and informed me that the transfer had been done, which I believed, but I kept waiting for an alert from him,” Ubaferem said.
The EFCC said further investigation revealed that Wasiu had traveled across the South East and Akwa Ibom State, allegedly using the same method to attack BDC operators.
The items recovered from the suspect include a Toyota Hilux truck with registration number KTR 379 AA, Akwa Ibom, several ATM cards, different bank transfer tokens and a digital national identification number bearing the name Sunday Abiodun.
The EFCC also recovered two courtesy cards bearing the name Engineer Abiodun, an Emporio Armani designer bag, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a Samsung phone, a pocket Wi-Fi connection with 4G internet connection, a Patek Philippe wrist watch, vehicle documents, a gold bracelet and a pair of Alexander McQueen shoes.
The EFCC said Wasiu would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.