Hushpuppi: Protesters At US Embassy Demand Investigation Of Atiku
July 06, 2020
Some Nigerians, on Monday, protested to the US Embassy, Abuja, demanding
a forensic investigation over ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar,
associate, Timi Frank and some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains
link to alleged fraudster, Raymond Abbas Igbalode, popularly known as
Hushpuppi.
The group, under the aegis of Concerned Citizens Forum
(CCF), numbering over 500 persons submitted a letter to the US
Ambassador and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, urging a thorough
probe of Hushpuppi’s political allies who are all in the PDP.
Recall
that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had alleged “criminal
conspiracy linking the top echelon of the opposition” to Hushpuppi.
According
to the APC, ” the PDP leadership turned Dubai into their ‘Strategic’
meeting place ahead of the 2019 general elections.
In its
petition signed by Comrade Adamu Kabir Matazu, the peaceful protesters
called on the US, through relevant agencies, to investigate the
connection between these high profile Nigerians and Hushpuppi so as to
recover fully the proceeds of crime or make it difficult for such monies
to be laundered in Nigeria.
The group reasoned that Atiku’s
frequent reliance on cyber experts and reference to internet server and
frequent trips to Dubai prior to last year’s elections may not be
unconnected to Hushpuppi.
It, therefore, urged the US to go
after Atiku, Timi Frank and other PDP stalwarts who through their
actions and associations with the fraudster may have helped to launder
the proceeds of crime.
Read full statement below:
Permit
us to congratulate you on your appointment as the United States
ambassador to Nigeria by US President, Donald Trump, and for the
successful presentation of your credentials to Nigeria’s President,
Muhammadu Buhari in December, 2019.
We are a group of eminent
Nigerians with keen interest in building a positive image for our
country through the promotion of credible best practices and exposure of
acts capable of soiling the image of Nigeria.
In the light of
the fact that we share common ideals of accountability and good
citizenship, we wish to bring to your attention, certain facts that will
further build citizens’ capacity for best practices.
Dear
Ambassador, we are sure you are aware that within the period you arrived
Nigeria and shortly before that, some of our citizens have been
arrested for alleged criminal activities like cyber crime, internet
fraud and money laundering in many countries in Europe, Asia and America
including your country, the United States.
The biggest and most
recent of such, is the arrest of Mr. Raymond Abbas Igbalode, the
Instagram celebrity, also known as Hushpuppi and 12 others who are
alleged to have scammed over 1.9 million people across the globe of over
$35 million.
We commend the international community for the
vigilance which has led to the arrest of these persons whose activities
have deprived many of their legitimate sources of livelihood and brought
shame to Nigeria.
Dear Ambassador, following the extradition of
Hushpuppi and his associates to the US to undergo trial for alleged
cyber fraud, we wish to offer our suggestions on how the investigations
would be thorough to achieve the goal of exposing all those suspected to
have either aided the fraud or those who have through their actions and
associations with the fraudsters, helped to launder the proceeds of
crime
This, we believe would ensure that all those involved in the crime are brought to book so as to serve as a deterrent to others.
You
will agree with us, dear Ambassador, that all the global instruments on
financial crime including FATF, clearly identity several ways in which
proceeds from financial crimes can be whitewashed and presented as
legit.
Some of these processes include association with
politically exposed persons, channeling the resources through existing
organisations and partnering with already established businesses.
We
wish to inform you that since 2016 when Mr. Igbalode pulled his first
heist and leaped into living a luxurious life of opulence, his major
channel for laundering the proceeds of his crime have been through open
association with notable Nigerian politicians as well as former and
serving public officials.
Such meetings are usually presented to
the public through videos and other photos of the event which are
usually held in posh hotels or other expensive venues around the world
on Instagram and other online media.
The aim of such videos and
photos, Dear Ambassador, as you are aware, is to further scam the public
by presenting such fraudsters and their ill gotten wealth as clean
business men with legit income that anybody can do business with.
The
photo and video shoots from such events serve as open endorsements of
such characters, making it easy for the proceeds of these cyber fraud to
be brought into Nigeria and to be accepted by unsuspecting members of
the public as normal which further makes it difficult for investigating
agencies to track.
We wish to report you, dear Ambassador, that
some of the persons who have lent their high profile personalities to
cover up for such shady transactions include a former vice president of
Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former senator, Dino Melaye, and a top
member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Timi Frank
and others.
Videos clips of their association with Mr.Igbalode
have been posted and reposted on major internet outlets like Facebook,
Internet and YouTube for all to see.
We have every reason to
suspect that their open association with Mr. Igbalode (Hushpuppi), was
not a coincidence as they are trying to make people believe, but was
well planned to sell the fraudster to Nigerians as a legitimate
businessman who associates with respected and eminent members of the
society.
It is in the light of this, dear Ambassador, that we
urge you, to use your good office as the representative of the United
States Government in Nigeria, to call the attention of the US government
of the possibility that the major accomplices of Mr. Igbalode are still
roaming about freely in Nigeria.
We call on the US Government to
in the bid to help fight cyber crime, money laundering and possible
terrorists financing, to draw the attention of the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Mr. Christopher A. Wray and the
Secretary General of Interpol, Mr. Jürgen Stock to these facts.
We are aware that both the
FBI
and Interpol have range of legal authorities that enables them
investigate federal crimes and threats to national security, as well as
to gather intelligence and assist other law enforcement agencies in
countries outside the US.
Hushpuppi is known to have defrauded
millions of people across the world and is wanted for fraud crimes in
Europe, the United States and Nigeria.
We are aware that Title
28, U.S. Code, Section 533, authorizes the Attorney General of the US,
to appoint officials to detect and prosecute crimes against the United
States.
The investigation we are asking these agencies to carry
out are clearly crimes against the United States as well as other
countries and we are aware that the FBI, unlike many domestic
intelligence agencies around the world, can investigate crime in other
countries, more so as the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI extends
to most federal criminal laws in more than 200 areas, including computer
crime (cybercrime), embezzlement, money laundering, organized crime
(including extortion and racketeering), piracy and hijacking, sabotage,
sedition, terrorism (including ecoterrorism).
We are also aware that these agencies have helped in tracking down crimes in other countries.
We
also know that the FBI has in the past worked with The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria, to identify and prosecute local
partners of international fraudsters and had arrested 281 individuals,
including 167 in Nigeria, for their involvement in fraudulent business
email compromise (BEC) schemes.
Dear Ambassador you may wish to
know that the EFCC in Nigeria, has said that details of Mr. Igbalode’s
money laundering transactions involves many high-profile cyber criminals
facing trial in Nigeria.
We are happy that EFCC is also eager to
engage with the EFCC in tracking victims of Mr. Igbalode’s fraudulent
transactions and other fraudsters having direct involvement with him.
We
are interested in having these persons investigated because we believe
they may have aided in laundering the proceeds of crime by Mr.Igbalode
either directly or indirectly, which if established, makes them
accomplices in the crime.
Our suspicion is heightened by the
frequent visits of these persons to Dubai in the United Arab Emirate,
UAE, where Mr. Igbalode was arrested, at the slightest instance, one of
which was the celebrated meeting of the associates of the former vice
president shortly before the 2019 Nigeria general elections.
Again,
we have every reason to suspect that the frequent reliance on cyber
experts and reference to internet server by the former vice president
and his associates, may not be unconnected with their relationship with
these cyber criminals.
We therefore call on the US Government to
assist through the relevant agencies to investigate the connection
between these high profile Nigerians and the internet fraudster so as to
recover fully the proceeds of crime or make it difficult for such
monies to be laundered in Nigeria.
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