How businessman almost killed himself after being duped of N360m by fraud gang allegedly headed by Lagos politicians

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- A businessman, Austin Ugochukwu, almost took his own life, after being duped of $1m (N360m), by a fraud syndicate which was allegedly headed by 2 Lagos politicians, and included his business partner

- The victim had deposited the money to the account of the frauds, after being offered a non-existent $1m for sale, in a dubious FOREX transaction

- The case is currently being investigated by the police, and Ugochukwu eventually recovered the sum of $350,000 after the criminals confessed to the crime

One Austin Ugochukwu, has narrated how he was swindled of $1m (N360m), by his business partner, Kunle Adesuyi, and the regional head of Heritage Bank, Marina Branch, Lagos, Chinwe Ofolue.

According to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, the victim disclosed that he discovered later that the foreign exchange transaction was a ruse, and is still trying to get justice.

NAIJ.com notes that Ugochukwu fingered two Lagos politicians- Tony Akala Bakare and Otunba Lanre- as being the alleged masterminds of the fraud, and of using their influence within the Nigeria Police Headquarters and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to frustrate police investigation into the matter.

Narrating his ordeal, Ugochukwu stated: “Due to my longstanding relationship with Kunle, I decided to move with him to Madam Chinwe and I confirmed truly that she is a Regional Head with the bank; and that gave me some level of comfort that made me think I could work with this set of people."

The problem started when Ugochukwu was introduced to one Dr. Cyriacus Anyanwu who would later receive N10m for his part in the racket.

Anyanwu invited him (Ugochukwu) and Kunle, to an exquisitely furnished office located at No 5B Audu Epkekha Street, Lekki, Lagos, on June 14, 2017.

He stated: “Dr Anyanwu introduced himself as a partner to Alhaji Umar’s company (Grantland Investment Ltd), and stated that they had been doing business for a long time.

“He then said Alhaji Umar has $1,000,000 cash to sell through a said ‘General’. We agreed to purchase the dollars at N360/$.

“Meanwhile, during the whole negotiation process, Alhaji Umar Ali could not speak English, he said in Hausa ‘ba turenchi’ (meaning I don’t understand English) and so his personal assistant Bashir Mohammed was interpreting for him.

“I sourced the funds from my clients who needed the foreign exchange to service their businesses: Yahaya Abubakar, Sethwealth Ventures, Energy Fountain Oil and Gas Ltd, Sought After Synergy Nig Ltd."

The assistant, Bashir Mohammed, then advised Ugochukwu to deposit N350,000,000 into their FCMB corporate account, Grantland Investment Lt,d with account number 0785971017.

The account was later found to belong to another member of the syndicate, Alhaji Agboola Rasheed.

After making the transfer, Ugochukwu thought it would also be easy to pick up the dollars, but this turned out not to be so.

He stated: “Basir called the ‘General’, informing him that they have received the naira, and he said they can come to pick up the cash.

"Bashir left while others remained with us in the office.”

Ugochukwu became apprehensive after waiting for several hours without receiving the money.

After becoming uncomfortable, the victim then called his bank to place a lien on his account and restrain the money he had transferred.

The general then reportedly got angry that a restraint had been placed by Ugochukwu, who requested that the dollars be brought before the lien would be lifted.

Upon intervention by a lady called Nkechi however, Ugochukwu lifted the lien. But rather than receiving the $1m, Bashir returned at 9pm, with just $130,000.

Mohammed then assured Ugocukwu that he would bring the balance at 10am the next day.

He wrote an agreement on Grantland Investment Ltd for the $130, 000 received, and signed off as the owner.

However, Mohammed stopped picking his calls after 12pm the next day.

Ugochukwu stated further: “We were tensed and Alhaji placed his hand on a Quran and swore we will get our money in Hausa to pacify us, we waited till 5pm, still no Bashir.

“We then turned the heat on Alhaji Umar Ali and he started fidgeting. Suddenly, we got a text from Bashir claiming EFCC had invited him and the seller. At this point, all hell broke loose.

“Alhaji became very visibly apprehensive and he turned to me and said he will make sure I get my money back in fluent English.

"I was shocked knowing he could speak English and was only pretending all along; it then became apparent to us that it was all a scam.”

After learning that he had been duped, Ugochukwu was said to have fainted several times, and even contemplated suicide.

He eventually opened a petition with the EFCC; but the people who loaned him part of the money got him arrested before the case could even go further.

Ugochukwu eventually got back $350,000 out of the $1million paid to the fraud syndicates, after they confessed to the crime.

The case is currently under police investigation.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that a 27-year-old Nigerian man, Fawaz Olarewaju Animasau, was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in the United States for aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Animasaun and two other persons were named in a federal indictment for charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as well as aiding and abetting.

EFCC stages a walk against corruption - on NAIJ.com TV: