Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) have arrested Nigerian, Festus Akinyemi Abiona, who was indicted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States over alleged involvement in internet fraud.
Abiona, 38, had been on the wanted list of the EFCC for more than eight months over the alleged fraud case before he was out of luck, leading to his arrest.
According to the anti-graft body, the suspect was apprehended last Wednesday in his beautifully built duplex in Arepo, Ogun State, despite refusing to step out since he got wind of the EFCC/FBI case for the past five months.
In the petition dated July 10, 2019, the FBI alleged that the suspect was involved in Business Email Compromise (BEC) and other computer enabled fraud.
The petition stated: ”In May 2016, the FBI received information that an actor or actors bypassed online security to steal money from retirement accounts held by an insurance company for Public Workers in the United States, which resulted in the loss of approximately $2,500, 000.”
Investigation by the Commission revealed that the person behind the Business Email Compromise was Abiona and others, while the millions of naira traced to his bank accounts and some of the emails used in perpetrating the fraud were taken over from him.
The petition explained further read:”The accounts contained numerous communications between Abiona and other criminals co-conspirators seeking to commit Business Email Compromise (BEC), Tax Refund Fraud, and other Computer enabled fraud.”
It was gathered that the suspect, on sighting operatives of the EFCC, flushed all his sim cards into the toilet and destroyed all Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards in order to destroy evidence.
At the time of filing this report, the suspect still refused to make statements, but the Commission has initiated efforts to arraign him in court.