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Hushpuppi's lawyer says FBI 'kidnapped' Nigerian Instagrammer from Dubai

A Nigerian man accused of multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering by the United States was kidnapped by the FBI from Dubai, his lawyer says.

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas - known to his 2.5 million Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi - and another cyber-heist suspect Olalekan Jacob Ponle (aka Mr Woodberry) were arrested in Dubai, where they lived, in June.

They then appeared in a Chicago court on 3 July.

The United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with the United States but Dubai police said they had been extradited to the US.

A spokesman for the US Department of Justice told the BBC that Hushpuppi was expelled from Dubai and was not extradited. He did not answer how he ended up in US custody.

What does Hushpuppi's lawyer say?

Mr Abbas' lawyer Gal Pissetzky told the BBC that his client, who posts on Instagram about his extravagant lifestyle, was not a criminal and had made his money legitimately.

"He is a social media influencer with millions of followers, with millions of people that respect and loved him, and he loved them, and that's what he did. In today's society, that's a business," he said.

Mr Pissetzky admits that he is not "100% familiar" with social media and his children consider him too old but he knows "that's how people make money today".

The Chicago defence lawyer's argument that Hushpuppi was paid by designer brands for promotion has set the stage for what promises to be a long trial in American courts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accuses Mr Abbas, 37, of conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from frauds known as Business Email Compromise (BEC) and other scams.

Did the US act legally?

It is the latest high-profile fraud case involving a Nigerian national in the United States but his lawyer says the US had no authority to transport him from Dubai.

"In my opinion, the FBI and the government here acted illegally when they kidnapped him from Dubai without any legal process to do so," Mr Pissetzky told the BBC.

"There was no extradition, there were no legal steps taken, there were no court documents filed, it was simply a call to the FBI. He is not a citizen of the United States, the US had absolutely no authority to take him," his lawyer says.

But the Dubai police said in a Facebook post that the FBI director had thanked them for extraditing the two men.

"You'll have to ask them about why they called it an extradition," the US Department of Justice (DoJ) spokesman responded in an email.

In a statement about Mr Abbas' initial court appearance , the DoJ said "FBI special agents earlier this week obtained custody of Abbas and brought him to the United States" without giving any further details.

Mr Pissetzky is not convinced.

"If Dubai wanted to expel him, they should have expelled him back to Nigeria. I've never heard of anything like that. That is the real story here."

walesho:
I mean the right amount of money to travel with

dami24:
Basic travel allowance

caleb00:
Please tell us how it goes, thanks

kreatorsink:
Hello guys,

I applied 30th dec for priority service and I’m yet to get my passport back. I called the UKVI twice and they said decision has bn made. I went to tls and they said my passport is not yet with them. I emailed my school and they said they will contact The UKVI on my behalf. The deadline for my enrollment is 27th of Jan. Please if you have idea how I can go about it. Kindly suggest.

NomzyJust:
Hello bro. I don't have Bsc in Computer Science but wish to make a career change to ICT. What programs do you suggest I do? I have some certifications from Google.

Sandyheart:
Do u have the number?

Mulatto444:
Good morning friends.

Please what's the best option to make payments deposit.

Form A or fx transfer?

caleb00:
How can i upgrade from priority to super priority please i need help right now

Newbetterphase:
Visa Grant

Submitted on 27th December
Biometric and Interview on 3rd December
Collection Notice on 15th December
Passport Delivered on 16th December

This is after 4 Visa refusals from Canada, USA and Australia.

And to think that I only made up my mind to pursue a Master's degree program in the UK on the 10th of December, paid tuition the following day or so.

I appreciate all wonderful contributors here, thank you.

To God be the glory. We move!!!!!!!

1stdami:
Hi Everyone,

visa was approved!.

After been denied by Canada and let down by Teesside University (Fear that school they can mess up very well)

Type: Priority
Location: Vi, Lagos
Book for my interview and biometrics on 7th of January
Date of Submission: Friday the 8th of January
Biometrics and Interview: 8th of January
Transferred to DMC: 8th of January
Not straightforward email: 10th of January

Application ready for collection: 15th of January.

Collected passport: 16th of January

I wish other people awaiting theirs all the best.

If you are going to Birmingham City University, let's link up

1stdami:
Hi Everyone,

visa was approved!.

After been denied by Canada and let down by Teesside University (Fear that school they can mess up very well)

Type: Priority
Location: Vi, Lagos
Book for my interview and biometrics on 7th of January
Date of Submission: Friday the 8th of January
Biometrics and Interview: 8th of January
Transferred to DMC: 8th of January
Not straightforward email: 10th of January

Application ready for collection: 15th of January.

Collected passport: 16th of January

I wish other people awaiting theirs all the best.

If you are going to Birmingham City University, let's link up

sen2paco:
My partners visa granted!

Timeline: online application 31st dec(priority service)
Bio & interview 3rd jan
Complex/deferred Mail (application not straightforward Mail) 8th Jan
Uni mail that CAS status has changed to USED 9th Jan
Yesterday 14th Jan collection Mail
Today 15th Jan visa collected.

Resumption is 24th Jan, despite having a refusal from Australia( dependant visa), we still gambled with priority application but God showed us favour and mercy. We didn’t receive any acknowledgment mail nor decision mail from DMC, only the non straightforward mail and then the TLS collection mail yesterday. As a matter of fact, from the date on the letter, decision was made on 8th Jan, same day we received non straightforward mail so that was like 3working days after biometrics. The whole process from application to collection took 7 working days! We pretty stoked �

I will not forget to show gratitude to everyone that’s been supportive. Thank you for taking your time to answer my queries especially Kode, zoey, lagosismyhome, Abiscoco and all. And to others expecting they visas, I pray u receive a positive decision.

Ola9292:
Like I paid all my application fee online but submission date is 20th and school is to resume 24th

Xtension18:
Visa approved!!!!
Biometrics on the 25 November
I tracked my application and I saw transferred to VAC, I went there without waiting for collection mail..Thank you guys

iamfelixy:
VISA RECEIVED!!!!!!!
I thank the gurus in the house and everyone who has in one way or the other helped me here.
And I pray for those waiting also, may God grant yours too.

Here is my timeline

Submitted 11th Dec
Interview. 12th Dec
Got collection mail today and received today 10th Jan 2020
Used standard service.

Nedu20:
If available dates are now from 17th upward, and your school starts on 27th, either you ask your school for extention and use priority or you better go for super priority to avoid stories that touches the heart

reincarnation:
Priority

Nedu20:
Passport collected and visa stamped.
I can't thank this thread enough... Thank you guys.

Biometrics - Dec 16th.
Passport collected - January 2nd

I hope to be part of the people that'd help others get there as well...

Once again, I really appreciate this thread.

Thank you @justwise @zoey1 @lagosismyhome and many others

Ijomobi:
please guys I would like to know which exam is easier to pass between PTE & IELTS.
school required (59 for PTE) & 5.5 for (IELTS).
I have little time to practice before taken the exam.
Please help a brother make decision.
Thanks