The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)’s candidate for the Kogi State House of Assembly, Ismaila Atumeyi was on Sunday arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for being in possession of the cash sum of N326 million and $140,500.
Atumeyi seeks to represent Ankpa 11 Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly.
The suspect was arrested alongside his alleged accomplice Joshua Dominic, a serial fraudster, in a sting operation at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana, Gwarinpa, Abuja.
The antigraft agency also arrested one Abdumalik Femi, a former bank employee, who allegedly supplied the inside information that facilitated the attack on the bank by the syndicate.
Spokesperson of the EFCC Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that Femi was picked up today (Tuesday), November 1, 2022 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos.
He said, “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 N1.4billion.”
Furthermore, he added that 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.
Dominic, who has severally been arrested for fraud, allegedly helped Atumeyi perfect the hacking plan through Abdumalik. Dominic, a self-styled investment expert and Managing Director of Brisk Capital Limited was arrested in May 2021 by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police for alleged N2 billion investment scam.
“He allegedly defrauded over 500 persons in a phony investment scheme.”
EFCC recovered two Range Rover Luxury SUVs from the two suspects arrested in Abuja.
According to Uwujaren the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded.
Meanwhile, the commission expresses concern about the rising spate of cyber-attacks on banks and the reluctance of the institutions to report such breaches to law enforcement.
He cautioned that such reticence would only embolden the criminals, and appealed to the financial institutions to collaborate with it to secure the financial sector from threats of cyber-attacks.
Recall that EFCC had in the wake of the recent announcement by the Central Bank Nigeria of plans to redesign and re-issue higher denominations of the naira, warned Bureau de Change operators to be wary of currency hoarders who would attempt to seize the opportunity to offload the currencies they had illegally stashed away.