Nov 18, 10:14 PM (ET)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Two Nigerians were convicted Friday in an international fraud scheme that led to the collapse of a Brazilian bank, anti-corruption officials said.
Frank Nwude and Nzeribe Okoli were found guilty of working with an official of Banco Noroeste of Sao Paolo to steal $242 million over seven years - a fraud related to promised kickbacks on a bogus Nigerian airport contract. The Brazilian bank collapsed as a result of the fraud.
According to prosecution documents, a bank worker was promised $13.4 million in kickbacks from an $187 million airport contract if he paid certain fees up front.
The bank worker withdrew his bank's funds illegally, transferring the money - up to $4.75 million at a time - to accounts around the world designated by the suspects, according to court documents.
Okoli was sentenced to four years in prison, while Nwude received five five-year sentences, to be served concurrently, and was ordered to pay the bank $110 million as well as a $10 million fine, said Ibrahim Lamode, a top official at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. A third defendant was convicted earlier in the scheme.
Nigeria has earned global notoriety as a base for criminals arranging "advance fee" or "419" scams, named after the section of Nigeria's criminal code that prohibits the schemes.
No comments:
Post a Comment