SHOCKING! ! Story Of Nigerian Biggest Fraudster Who Sold A Fake Airport To A Brazilian; See His Tragic End
Internet fraud, often referred to as ” 419″ scams, has unfortunately become a phenomenon commonly associated with Nigeria.
Long before online fraud became a global issue, Emmanuel Nwude had already orchestrated one of the most significant scams in history.
Nwude’ s fraud ranks as the third largest banking scam worldwide, following Nick Leeson’ s trading losses at Barings Bank and the looting of the Iraqi Central Bank by Qusay Hussein.
But how did Nwude pull off this astonishing scam and convince Nelson Sakaguchi, a bank director, to part with such a vast sum of money under the pretense of purchasing an airport?
As a former director at Union Bank of Nigeria, Nwude had access to critical information and documents. Using this privileged position, he impersonated Paul Ogwuma, the then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He contacted Sakaguchi, enticing him with a lucrative deal involving Nigeria’ s plans to construct an airport in Abuja. Nwude promised Sakaguchi a $10 million commission if the deal went through.
Trusting this fraudulent proposal, Sakaguchi paid $191 million in cash, with the rest as outstanding interest.
” Nwude’ s accomplices included Emmanuel Ofolue, Nzeribe Okoli, Obum Osakwe, and the couple Christian and Amaka Anajemba. ”
Together, they successfully duped Sakaguchi, convincing him to part with the money.
Sakaguchi discovered he was a victim of this massive scam in 1997 when Banco Santander sought to acquire Banco Noroeste. During a joint board meeting in December, Spanish bank officials noticed that half of Noroeste’ s capital was unmonitored in the Cayman Islands, raising suspicions.
This discrepancy led to an investigation across Brazil, Britain, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United States. Despite the owners of Noroeste covering a $242 million bill, the bank eventually collapsed in 2001.
In response to escalating financial crimes, President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2002. Nwude’ s case was one of the first major investigations.
In 2004, Nwude and his accomplices faced an Abuja High Court on 86 counts of ” fraudulently seeking advance fees” and 15 counts of bribery. ”
Although they initially pleaded not guilty, Amaka Anajemba later confessed, resulting in her paying $25. 5 million in restitution and serving two and a half years in prison.
Nwude’ s attempts to bribe the then EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu and kidnap a prosecuting witness led to additional charges.
Eventually, Nwude pleaded guilty, receiving five concurrent five- year sentences and a $10 million fine to the federal government. He was released from prison in 2006 and managed to reclaim $167 million of his assets, arguing they were acquired before his criminal activities.
In 2016, Nwude was implicated in a violent land dispute in Ukpo, resulting in multiple deaths. Arrested and facing charges of murder and terrorism, Nwude remains in custody as his trial continues.
His notorious scam signaled a rise in international financial crime and cemented Nigeria’ s unfortunate association with advanced fee fraud.
