The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal Directorate, has commenced investigations into the activities of a 38-year-old man, Raheem Abiodun Wasiu, over an alleged $12,000 fraud involving Bureau De Change, BDC, operators.
A statement by the EFCC 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 operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence 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 around with escorts before meeting BDC operators in parts of the South-East.
The Commission alleged that after collecting money from his victims, Wasiu would present fake naira payment alerts to make them believe that the required transfers had been completed.
“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. The next thing he told me was that it had gone through, which I waited for the alert to come, to no avail. Because of time, he asked me to go and that I would get it, that it could be network issues, and I left because of his personality,” Chukwuamuanya recounted.
He alleged that the suspect became unreachable shortly after the incident.
Another petitioner, Chief Nwaoha Ubaferem, who is based in Owerri, Imo State, also alleged that Wasiu defrauded him of $7,000.
“The dollar on me was $2,600, then I called my office to bring an additional $4,400 to me to complete it, as he requested $7,000. As we were waiting, he complained that he was running 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 gone, which I believed but continued to expect an alert from him,” Ubaferem said.
The EFCC said further investigation revealed that Wasiu had travelled across the South-East and Akwa Ibom State, allegedly using the same method to target BDC operators.
Items recovered from the suspect include a Toyota Hilux truck with registration number KTR 379 AA, Akwa Ibom, several bank ATM cards, different bank transfer tokens and a digital National Identification Number slip bearing the name Sunday Abiodun.
The EFCC also recovered two complimentary cards bearing the name Engineer Abiodun, an Emporio Armani designer bag, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a Samsung phone, a 4G internet 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 in court after the completion of investigations.
