The police special fraud unit has arraigned James Abidemi, his company; Diamondsmith De-Great Universal Petroleum Corporation and others at large; before the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for the offence bothering on conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N397 million by false pretence, fraudulent conversion and stealing.
According to a statement signed by SP Eyitayo Johnson, Police Public Relations Officer, for Commissioner of Police, Police Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, the suspect’s company, Diamondsmith De-Great Universal Petroleum received the aforementioned sum in tranches, between the 23rd to 28th May, 2022 from a Consulting Firm with prime focus in assisting clients to source and render payment services in Foreign Exchange for goods and services around the world.
Meanwhile, the money was actually diverted to another member of the syndicate, a banker based in Ghana who dispersed the funds to several other accomplices while the suspect provided fake telexes as proof of remittance to foreign business partners of the complainant.
What they are saying
- The statement read in part, “The Unit arraigned one James Abidemi and his company; Diamondsmith De-Great Universal Petroleum Corporation and others at large; before the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for the offence of Conspiracy and Obtaining the sum of N396,999,080.00 by false pretence, fraudulent conversion and stealing. The complainant is a Consulting Firm with prime focus in assisting clients to source and render payment services in Foreign Exchange for goods and services around the world.”
- It added that the suspect’s company, Diamondsmith De-Great Universal Petroleum; received the aforesaid sum in tranches between the 23rd to 28th May 2022 in furtherance to the Memorandum of Understanding between the consulting firm and the suspect.
- “The money was meant for the purchase of $688,000.00 at an exchange rate of Five N577 per US Dollar and was supposed to remit same at $250,000.00, $325,000.00 and $100,000.00 and $13,000.00 to specified beneficiaries in Mainland China and Hong Kong.”
- However, the suspect provided fake telexes as proof of remittance to foreign business partners of the complainant while the money was actually diverted to another member of the syndicate, who is a banker based in Ghana and he dispersed the funds to several other accomplices.
- On this note, the Unit has solicited the cooperation of INTERPOL to apprehend the remaining members of the syndicate that are outside Nigeria.
CP. Anyasinti Josephine Nneka, the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, advised Banks and Financial Institutions on the need to increase their Cyber-Security Surveillance, conduct routine background checks on staff who have login privileges that could be compromised to make banks porous to cyber-attacks.
She also enjoins the public on the need to investigate sources of unexpected inflows into their accounts. Where such funds are found to have been wrongly credited, the recipient should cooperate with their banks and make conscious efforts to reverse/re-route same. Utilizing such funds is a criminal offence.
