Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Mr Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
In a statement released by the EFCC spokesperson, Mr Dele Oyewale, over the weekend, the money was handed over to the FBI on Friday in Lagos State.
“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” the Acting Director of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Mr Michael Wetkas, said according to the statement, adding that, “The EFCC is willing and always ready to do more.”
At the event, FBI’s Legal Attaché, Mr Charles Smith, commended the EFCC for the move, saying, “The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business Email Compromise (BEC).
“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.
“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies. If there’s anything the FBI can do to support this investigation, we will do so. We appreciate this on behalf of the FBI and thank the EFCC,” he added.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos had, on August 15, 2023, ordered that the recovered money from Mr Olanrewaju, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation, be restituted to his victim in the US.
During his arraignment recently, he pleaded “guilty” to the offence, which is contrary to and punishable under Section 22(2) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2015
The judge ordered the sum of $22,000 as well as the N500,000 Manager’s cheque recovered from the convict forfeited to the victim.
The mobile devices and gadgets recovered from the convict were ordered forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria.
