Hushpuppi, the embattled Nigerian socialite, alleged that he
bribed Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP), to arrest a
co-fraudster, according to US court documents.
The Instagram personality, who is known for his luxury life,
was arrested in the UAE in June 2020 alongside 11 of his associates over
allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and
identity theft.
His extradition to the US had followed after the UAE police detailed his arrest in a special operation dubbed ‘Fox Hunt 2’ where he was accused of defrauding 1.9 million victims to the tune of N168 billion.
Hushpuppi was thereafter arraigned and detained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago ahead of his trial.
The embattled Instagram celebrity had recently pleaded
guilty to the money laundering charges against him, risking 20 years
imprisonment.
But in a fresh development, US court officials said during
interrogation, Hushpuppi disclosed that he bribed Kyari to arrest and jail one
of his rivals in Nigeria after a dispute over a $1.1 million scam on Qatari
businesspeople.
According to a statement by the US department
of justice, Hushpuppi asked Kyari to jail
Kelly Chibuzor Vincent, his colleague, after both were locked in a dispute over
how to share the $1.1 million loot received from the Qatari businessperson.
In the filings by the officials, Vincent was said to have
contacted the victim and informed him that he was being scammed by Hushpuppi’s
syndicate.
As stated in the documents, this enraged Hushpuppi who was
said to have contacted Kyari to arrest and jail him.
Hushpuppi was also quoted as saying that Kyari allegedly
sent photos of Vincent in jail and followed this up with a bank account number
to which a wire transfer should be made for the successful arrest and detention
of his co-fraudster.
The statement read: “Court documents outline a dispute among
members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the
victim and claim that Abbas and Juma were engaged in fraud. After this contact,
Abbas allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria by Abba Alhaji
Kyari, 46, of Nigeria.
“According to the
affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria
Police Force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and
jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his
arrest. Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account
into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment.”
Kristi K. Johnson, assistant director of the FBI’s LA field
office, said: “Mr. Abbas, among the high-profile money launderers in the world,
admitted to his significant role in global BEC fraud, a scheme plaguing
Americans.
“His celebrity status and ability to make connections seeped
into legitimate organizations and led to several spin-off schemes in the U.S.
and abroad.
“Today’s announcement deals a crucial blow to this
international network and hopefully serves as a warning to potential victims
targeted with this type of theft.”
As of the time of this report, Kyari had yet to react to the
claims against him by the embattled socialite.
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