The syndicate had defrauded some American citizens to the tune of $11m “through fraudulent wire transfer instructions in a massive coordinated business email compromise scheme.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N235m “warehoused” in the bank accounts of Invictus Oil and Gas Limited and Invictus Investment Limited.
Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Justice Abdullah Liman had on March 23, 2020, ordered the interim forfeiture of the money domiciled in First City Monument Bank (FCMB) following an ex parte application dated December 18, 2019, filed by the EFCC.
The judge also ordered the anti-graft agency to issue a notice in a national newspaper asking anyone opposed to the forfeiture of the money to come before the court and show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited.
Owing to no opposition, the commission on June 2, 2020, filed a motion seeking the final forfeiture of the money to the federal government.
Moving the motion on November 12, 2020, I. Sulaiman, counsel to the EFCC, asked the court to grant his prayers for final confiscation of the money.
“In his ruling, Justice Liman granted the applicant’s prayers and also ordered the final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government,” the statement said.
Okeke, who was in 2016 celebrated by Forbes as one of Africa’s most outstanding entrepreneurs under the age of 30 and described by the magazine as “proof that there is hope for Africa” was arrested in August 2019 by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation as the ringleader of a cybercrime syndicate.
The syndicate had defrauded some American citizens to the tune of $11m “through fraudulent wire transfer instructions in a massive coordinated business email compromise scheme.