The Nigeria Police Force has made further clarifications on the arrest of two suspected internet fraudsters over a fourteen point seven million euro Covid-19 scam.
Force Public Relations Officer, FRANK MBAH, said the scam was carried out by an international criminal syndicate, which include two Nigerians, against a German company.
The suspects were arrested by detectives from the Cybercrime Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, working together with INTERPOL, and the National Central Bureau.
The Nigerian suspects are Babatunde Adesanya, a.k.a Teddy, who is a 50-years old Master Degree holder in Cell Biology, and 41-years old Akinpelu Hassan Abass; the M.D of Musterpoint Investment Nig. Ltd.
Both men are said to be members of a sophisticated transnational criminal network, who allegedly cloned the corporate website of ILBN Holdings BV, Holland to transact with and defraud one Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn, a representative of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The men were arrested through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty received by the Bureau from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice based on a request from the German Government.
MBAH, who is a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said the fraudsters worked with others in the Netherlands to dupe a German company through a fake contract for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment.
He said the target had made two advance payments to the fraudsters, including one that was traced to the bank account of one of the Nigerian collaborators.
DCP MBAH said “Discrete investigations by INTERPOL Nigeria revealed that the suspects and their Holland-based cohorts, one Eduardus Boomstra and Geradius Maulder specialized in identity theft, cyber-stalking, cloning of corporate websites amongst other cyber mischiefs to defraud unsuspecting members of the public across the world. In this instance, the suspects fraudulently obtained from Mr Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn the sum of 1.5m Euro and another 880,000 Euro as advanced payment for the supply of COVID-19 PPEs valued at 14.7million Euros.”
The Force Public Relations Officer said he was hopeful that the breakthrough would strengthen relations between Nigeria and Germany, despite the fact that two of the suspects are Nigerians.