Bank scam: Nigeria returns $17m
2005-11-22 08:44
Abuja - Nigeria handed back some $17m on Monday to a Brazilian bank which collapsed after it was defrauded to the tune of R242m in the world's biggest case of "advanced fee fraud".
Anti-graft agency chief Nuhu Ribadu presented a cheque to William Richey, who led the Banco Noroeste's legal team.
"By making this restitution to the victim of the scam we also want to send a strong, unequivocal message that we will no longer harbour such fraudulently acquired funds no matter who or where the victim is," Ribadu said.
On Friday a Lagos high court sentenced two key suspects - businessman Nzeribe Okoli and banker Emmanuel Nwude - to 12 and 25 years jail respectively after pleading guilty to charges of duping Brazilian banker Nelson Sakagushi, Ribadu said.
The two fraudsters tricked Sakagushi into stealing $242m from his employer between April 1995 and January 1998 after promising him a lucrative cut on an imaginary contract to rebuild Abuja airport.
A third suspect, Amaka Anajemba, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in July.
"We have obtained court orders to enable the recovery of much of the $242m," Ribadu said, promising to do as much as possible to recover the stolen Brazilian funds.
- AFP