The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) says it has dismantled a cross-border fraud syndicate and arrested a fake World Bank official.
The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the syndicate was dismantled and the suspect arrested following actionable intelligence from the East Africa Sub-Sahara Africa Safe Promotion (EA-SSASPF) Foundation.
Placid said the intelligence revealed that the foundation is a registered NGO in Nairobi, Kenya, and that Mr Julius Kithome and Ms Cynthia Kithome were introduced to the suspect by Rev. Edy Ndeto in Nairobi.
The police spokesman said the suspect falsely presented himself as an official of the World Bank and other U.S.-based donor partners.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the complainants, relying on the fraudulent claims, transferred a total of 250,000 dollars 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-dollar empowerment fund in Ghana,” he said.
Placid said investigations and financial analysis confirmed substantial inflows from the Kenyan victims, including 57,975 dollars between February and July 2023.
He said the suspect was arrested on March 31, and his entity, Black Diamond African Beauty Restoration Foundation, was found to be unregistered in Nigeria.
The police spokesman added that the suspect later registered United African Continent Limited in November 2024 to legitimise his illicit activities.
He said further findings showed that the suspect extended the fraud 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 NPF-NCCC on April 3 arrested another suspect following a complaint by Lex Excellentia on behalf of Mr Emmanuel Enwelu of NewLife Ventures, Makurdi.
He said the suspect, a former employee of the organisation, was accused of unauthorised modification of computer systems, cybersquatting, and diversion of funds.
Placid said the suspect confessed to using his personal bank accounts to receive customer payments meant for the company.
He added that a Samsung A6 Plus mobile phone, NIN paper slip, and NIN digital slip were recovered from the suspect.
