Nigeria Police Arrest Politician Over N200 Million Theft From Crypto Exchange Platform, Patricia
- The Nigeria police have disclosed the arrest of a politician over the theft of N200 million from Patricia Technologies Limited
- The police said Ambassador Wilfred Bonse was arrested for helping hackers launder N50 million of the stolen funds
- The development follows Patricia Technologies' petition to the Inspector General of Police
Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.
The Nigeria police have revealed that they arrested one Ambassador, Wilfred Bonse, a politician, over the theft of N200 million from Patricia Technologies' crypto wallet.
ACP Olumiyiwa Adejobi, the Force PRO, revealed this in a statement issued on Friday, November 24, 2023, saying that Bonse helped hackers launder N50 million from the stolen money.
Source: Facebook
Cybercriminals move N200 million from wallets
Olumuyiwa said the Force's National Cybercrime Centre has made significant progress investigating a complicated financial fraud reported by the crypto exchange platform Patricia Technology Limited.
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He said that the case involved criminal conspiracy, unauthorized modification of computer systems and network data, and the unlawful diversion of funds to N200 million, as stated in the petition to the Inspector General of Police.
The statement said:
"Outlining the details of the alleged theft, conversion of cryptocurrency wallets, and unauthorized fund diversion from the company's Flutterwave account, the petition specifically mentioned some individuals currently at large. However, painstaking efforts on their trail led to the arrest of one Ambassador Wilfred Bonse.
"Having registered his involvement in the complex crime. Wilfred Bonse conspired in laundering the sum of Fifty Million Naira (N50,000,000:00k) originating from the fraudulent diversion of Six Hundred and Seven Million Naira (N607,000,000:00k) from Patricia Technology company's account to his bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.
Investors' N2 billion trapped in wallets
Patricia has recently faced turbulence since its system was hacked in 2023, with investors' funds amounting to millions of naira vanishing from wallets.
In October, the company denied a viral video showing an empty office as concerns remain over customers' N2 billion trapped funds.
In a statement signed by Fejiro Hanu Agbodje, CEO and Founder of Patricia, the company said it does not have an office, and its operational structure is designed to be fully remote, with team members distributed across different continents, Legit.ng reported.
Hanu further explained that the location in the video is an innovation hub offering free co-working spaces to developers and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, not its office.
Following refund demands from customers, the company offered to convert the value of their assets to shares or Patricia Tokens, a promise to repay them later.
"How influencers made me lose N35m on Patricia": Nigerian man who returned from abroad opens up
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that A Nigerian abroad returnee, Nworu Michael Ekele, has shed light on what made him put millions of naira into the embattled e-commerce company, Patricia.
Michael opened up in a new video as he cried out to Hanu Fejiro Agbodje, Patricia's CEO, to release his trapped N35 million.
Michael revealed the N35 million was the total of all the money he made abroad. He said he invested everything in Patricia, hoping to fall back on them on his return to Nigeria. However, that was not to be.
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Source: Legit.ng
