10 scammers on FBI watch list traced to S’East – EFCC

Anti-graft agency says Okorocha, wife to forfeit assets

ABOUT 10 suspected scammers on the United States elite fraud watchdog, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s watch list have been traced to South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
These suspects, also known as yahoo boys are wanted in connection with series of online scams in which the suspects hid under phoney transactions to fleece unsuspecting internet users of various sums at different times.
South East Zonal Head of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Usman Imam, disclosed this at a press briefing in Enugu,yesterday, stating that his unit also obtained 59 convictions out of which were 51 arrested and prosecuted in 2019.
According to Imam, EFCC will spare nothing to ensure that the wanted suspects are hauled into FBI’s drag net, adding that those already in their custody had turned in about N213.8 million and another $10,600, while EFCC also recovered several luxury cars and three-storey building as well as an ultramodern duplex from them.
“In one of such recoveries, one Augustine Ejimofor, who defrauded his victim of $5,000 and used it to acquire a Mercedez Benz C300 was ordered to forfeit the vehicle. So far, the zone has arrested 88 suspected fraudsters since 2015, with 70 of them in 2019. This underscores the efforts of the present zonal head in conformity with the acting chairman’s directives,” he said.
Imam equally used the forum to disclose that EFCC has obtained orders for an interim forfeiture of assets traced to immediate past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, his daughter and his wife, adding that there is also a similar order was obtained against an aide of the former governor, Paschal Obi.
He listed some of the property to include a 16 blocks of 96 flats and an eight-bungalow multimillion naira estate, hotel, two schools, shopping plaza, supermarket, hospital located in choice areas of Owerri and Enugu metropolis and four exotic vehicles among the properties allegedly acquired by Okorocha while in office.