The world is filled with all kinds of people. Most of them are good, but there are some who make news for all the wrong reasons. We have seen countless reports of scams and frauds. People have been caught selling government properties in order to make money, but selling an entire airport is unbelievable. This fraud is worth a whopping $242 million (equal to approx Rs. 1688 Crore).
A person named Emmanuel Nwude, the former director of Union Bank Of Nigeria did this fraud between 1995 and 1998 in Nigeria. His cheated a Brazilian named Nelson Sakaguchi, who was a director of a bank. He used his links to get all the paperwork done.
Emmanuel Nwude approached Nelson posing as Paul Ogwuma, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. He told Nelson that the government of Nigeria is planning to build an airport at Abuja. He also persuaded Nelson by saying that he would be earning at least $10 Million in commission after the deal.
The deal was too much for Nelson to pass on. Therefore, he paid Emmanuel $191 million in cash. The remaining amount was paid in form of outstanding interest.
This big fraud also involved some other persons. They were Obum Osakwe, Nzeribe Okoli, Emmanuel Ofolue, Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba and Amaka Anajemba, who were husband and wife. Christian was murdered later on.
The fraud was investigated in 2004, where everyone from the gang was presented before the Abuja High Court. They were charged with 86 cases of illegally seeking advance fees in addition to 15 cases of trying to bribe the officials. As expected the gang pleaded not guilty. After which, the court warned them not to bribe any officials.
Emmanuel was sentenced five years and $10 million as fine by the court. He was released in 2006. After getting out, he has filed a case for reclaiming his prosperities. As of now, he has gotten properties worth $167 million.
