A 37 year old Nigerian man who was listed on the FBI’s most wanted list for Cyber Crimes has been arrested and extradited from Ghana to the United States.
The accused was arrested back in April 2023 whiles he was in Ghana.
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He and many of his accomplices are accused of defrauding their victims by false pretense an amount to the tune of $6 million within one year.
Kayode and his accomplices are accused of being embroiled in high level of sophisticated cyber crime and romance scams.
Abiola Kayode, the man in the center of the alleged cyber crime with his accomplices are said to have impersonated several high ranking business executives and CEOs authorizing payments into certain accounts controlled by the alleged fraudsters. Their crime span between January 2015 to September 2016.
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The prime suspect, Kayode first appeared in court on Dec 11, 2024 and was detained awaiting trial.
His accomplices Adewale Aniyeloye, was sentenced to 96 months in prison while he was ordered to pay $1.5 million, Pelumi Fawehinimi, who was instrumental in securing bank accounts for the fraud, received 72 months, Onome Ijomone, also accused in romance scams, received 60 months in prison. He was extradited from Poland. Alex Ogunshakin also received 45 months in prison after his extradition from Nigeria in 2024.
In a statement by the FBI, the agent in charge of the case Eugene Kowel stated the agency’s resolve and commitment to apprehend the other culprits who are in hiding.
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He said “Our message to the remaining four co-conspirators; we are coming for you.”
While the Department of Justice was instrumental in the case. the FBI acknowledged and appreciated the efforts Ghanaian authorities extended in the successful extradition of the main suspect Abiola Kayode.
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The FBI agent further stated in acknowledging the efforts of other Ghanaian security officials “The FBI, working together with our partners in Ghana, particularly the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service, will continue to pursue and bring to justice criminals who engage in Business Email Compromise and other fraud schemes.”
