The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched an investigation into a 38-year-old man accused of defrauding Bureau De Change operators of $12,000.
Operatives of the EFCC’s Enugu Zonal Directorate are investigating Raheem Abiodun Wasiu following his arrest by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over allegations of fraud.
Wasiu was arrested after a BDC operator, Ezekulie Stanley Chukwumuanya, alleged that he lost $5,000 to the suspect.
EFCC investigations indicate that Wasiu allegedly rented different Toyota Hilux trucks, presented himself as a wealthy contractor and moved with escorts while targeting BDC operators across parts of the South-East.
The commission said he allegedly collected dollars from his victims before displaying fake naira transfer alerts as evidence of payment.
Recounting his encounter with the suspect, Chukwumuanya said, “I gave him the dollar and he counted it by himself. After confirmation, he then asked for my bank details.”
He said Wasiu later mentioned his name after it appeared on the banking application and claimed that the transaction had been completed.
“The next thing he told me was that it had gone through, which I waited for the alert to come, to no avail,” Chukwumuanya said.
He added that Wasiu attributed the delay to network problems and asked him to leave, after which the suspect allegedly became unreachable.
Another petitioner, Chief Nwaoha Ubaferem of Owerri, Imo State, accused Wasiu of collecting $7,000 from him after requesting the amount for a transaction.
Ubaferem said he initially had $2,600 and contacted his office for an additional $4,400 to complete the requested sum.
“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,” he said.
According to him, Wasiu later claimed that the transfer had been completed, prompting him to wait for a payment alert that never came.
Further investigation showed that the suspect had allegedly travelled across the South-East and Akwa Ibom State, using a similar pattern in dealings with BDC operators.
Items recovered from him include a Toyota Hilux truck with registration number Akwa Ibom KTR 379 AA, several bank ATM cards, 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, 4G pocket Wi-Fi, a Patek Philippe wristwatch, vehicle documents, a gold bangle and a pair of Alexander McQueen shoes.
The commission said Wasiu would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.