In this retro series, Naij.com bring to you
the story of Emmanuel Nwude who
committed the largest fraud in the
country by selling a non-existent airport
to a Brazilian for $242 million between
1995 and 1998.
The rise of internet fraud commonly known
as 419 is one phenomenon Nigeria has
come to be associated it. Before internet
fraud became a global issue, Nwude had
committed one of the biggest scams in the
world. Specifically, his fraud was the third
largest banking scam in the world after the
Nick Leeson's trading losses at Barings
Bank, and the looting of the Iraqi Central
Bank by Qusay Hussein.
How was Nwude able to carry out this jaw-
dropping scam and convince Nelson
Sakaguchi who was the director of the
bank to part with so much money for the
purchase of an airport?
Nwude was a former director of Union
Bank of Nigeria and this position made him
privy to some links, information and
documents that other persons would not
be aware of. He impersonated the then
governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
Paul Ogwuma, and connected with
Sakaguchi informing him of a mouth-
watering deal of Nigeria’s plan to build an
airport in Abuja.Nwude, pretending to be the Central Bank
of Nigeria governor, told Sakaguchi that he
stood of chance of pocketing $10 million
commission when the deal passed through.
Sakaguchi paid $191 million in cash and the
remainder in the form of outstanding
interest.
Nwude’s accomplices were Emmanuel
Ofolue, Nzeribe Okoli, and Obum Osakwe,
along with the husband and wife duo,
Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba and Amaka
Anajemba, with Christian later being
assassinated.
The criminal gang was able to convince the
director of the Brazilian bank to part with
the money.
How did Sakaguchi find out he was a
victim of one of the largest scam in the
world?
In 1997, the Spanish Banco Santander
wanted to take over the Banco Noroeste
and a joint board meeting was held in
December of that year. Officials of the
Spanish bank noted that half of the
Brazilian bank’s capital was at Cayman
Islands unmonitored. This raised questions
as this was two-fifths of Noroeste's total
value.
Investigation began and was carried out in
Brazil, Britain, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the
United States. Although the sale of the Bank
still went on as the owners of the bank paid
$242 million bill, the nak still collapsed in
2001.
The birth of the EFCC
In 2002, the then president, Olusegun
Obasanjo saw to the establishment of an
anti-graft agency, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nwude’s fraud case one of the first to be
investigated and in 2004, all members of
the gang were arraigned before an Abuja
High Court on 86 counts of "fraudulently
seeking advance fees" and 15 counts of
bribery related to the case . Although they
pleaded not guilty, they were warned not to
attempt to bribe court officials as it was
suspected that money was going round.
Nwude has become Nigeria's fraud kingpin
after pulling off one of the biggest 'deals' in
history
In 2005, Amaka confessed to helping
Anajemba and was asked to repay $25.5
million and also sentenced to two and a half
years in prison.
Nwude attempted to bribe Nuhu Ribadu,
the then chairman of the EFCC, with $75,000
cash but the latter refused and Nwude was
charged with attempted bribery as well as
attempt to kidnap a prosecuting witness.
Following Sakaguchi's witness, Nwude
finally pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
five concurrent sentences of five years and
was also asked to pay $10 million fine to
the federal government.He was released from prison in 2006 and
filed a case to reclaim his assets insisting
some of them were acquired before the
criminal act. He has so far been able to
reclaim $167 million.
Aftermath
A land dispute in the town of Ukpo in the
Dunukofia area with Abagana community
turned bloody when over 200 men invaded
the community killing four policemen and
the security guard at the construction site
in 2016. The Anambra state government
fingered Nwude as the ringleader and he
was subsequently arrested and arraigned
on 27 charges including murder and
terrorism. He is being held at Awka prison
as the court case is still on.
While Nwude’s criminal exploit was not the
first in the country, it signified the rise in
international financial crime and popularise
the advanced fee fraud syndrome with
Nigeria's name associated with it. https://www.naij.com/1100779-the-story-emmanuel-nwude-carried-biggest-scam-nigeria.html

ftc. wow wow wow wow


the floor is scam free
Nigerians:

He tried

h tired but. I didn't see his pics..