THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a Kogi State House of Assembly candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ismaila Yusuf Atumeyi, with N326 million and $140,500 cash.
Atumeyi is suspected to be part of a syndicate of fraudsters that hacked into a commercial bank and stole N1.4 billion.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday.
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Atumeyi, who is seeking to represent Ankpa II state constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, was arrested alongside one Joshua Dominic, an alleged serial fraudster, at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana, Gwarinpa, Abuja.
Following their arrest last Sunday, a former bank employee, Abdulmalik Salau Femi, who allegedly supplied the inside information that facilitated the attack on the bank by the syndicate, was nabbed at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos on Tuesday.
“He (Femi) was picked up Tuesday, November 1, 2022, at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos. Following his arrest, a search was conducted on his home in Morgan Estate, Ojodu, where a total of $470,000 USD was recovered.
“The arrest of the suspects followed months of investigation into the hacking of one of the commercial banks by a syndicate of fraudsters who pulled off a heist of N1.4 billion.
“The syndicate allegedly moved N887 million into the account of Fav Oil and Gas Limited, from where the monies were paid to several Bureau de Change operators and some auto dealers for exchange into United States Dollars and purchase of high-end cars,” he said.
Dominic, who has severally been arrested for fraud, allegedly helped Atumeyi perfect the hacking plan through Femi.
Described as a ‘self-styled investment expert and managing director of Brisk Capital Limited’, Dominic was arrested in May 2021 by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police over an alleged N2 billion investment scam.
He allegedly defrauded over 500 persons in a phony investment scheme.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.