Nigerian INTERPOL Arrests Duo Behind €2.380m COVID-19 Scam
By Emmanuel Awosika
Two individuals allegedly responsible for defrauding a German national of €14.7m in a COVID-19 scam have been arrested by Cybercrime Unit of the Nigerian INTERPOL.
The suspects, Babatunde Adesanya and Akinpelu Hassan Abbas are part of a international network of fraudsters adept at cloning company websites, cyberstalking, identity theft and other cybercrimes.
The duo reportedly cloned the website of a Holland-based company, ILBN Holdings BV, to defraud a German, Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn, of €2.380m
According to a statement by the Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, Von Hann, a representative of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, had made advance payment of €2.380m for COVID-19 PPEs valued at €14.7M.
However, the promised PPEs never arrived, forcing the victim to report the issue to ILBN Holdings BV. The company then revealed that it had never received payment for the PPEs, indicating the victim had been scammed.
Subsequent investigations into the issue by the Dutch authorities traced the transaction to a Lagos-based bank account and also led to the arrest of the two Dutch nationals, Eduardus Boomstra and Geradius Maulder, suspected to be involved in the scam.
Thereafter, the German government had requested assistance from the Nigerian INTERPOL in fishing out the perpetrators.
Subsequent investigations by the security operatives led to the arrest of the Nigerian duo and revealed they had passed themselves off as legitimate representatives of the company (ILBN Holdings BV), allowing them the unsuspecting German.
Sequel to the arrest of the fraudsters, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, commended men of the Cybercrime Unit, Nigerian INTERPOL, for their efforts in nabbing the suspects.
He also said the Force was dedicated to eliminating all forms of cybercrime in the country, indicating the arrested individuals would soon face prosecution.
