The Man Who Sold A Fake Airport For $242 Million – The mastermind Nigerian Scammer named Emmanuel Nwude. He is best known for his involvement in one of the largest banking scams in history that occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s where he tricked a Major Bank In Brazil out of 242 Million Dollars.
The fraudulent activities commenced in 1995. Emmanuel put together a team of highly intelligent individuals and they all assumed different identities. These identities included High Ranking Officials of The Nigerian Government. Emmanuel Nwude assumed the identity of Paul Ogwuma, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He then made contact with Nelson Sakaguchi, a high-ranking executive at Banco Noroeste. Nwude skillfully persuaded Sakaguchi into truly believing that he was indeed the Governor Of The Central Bank. With artful deception, Nwude lured Sakaguchi into investing in this purported venture, promising him substantial returns on his capital.
Succumbing to the allure of high profits, Sakaguchi consented and subsequently transferred approximately $242 million to various bank accounts overseen by Nwude and his accomplices over the span of several years. However, the elaborate ruse eventually unraveled, leading to Nwude’s incarceration in 2004.
How Was Nwude’s Fraud Exposed?
In 1997, Banco Santander, a Spanish multinational financial services company, moved to take over Banco Noroeste Brazil. While at a joint meeting to facilitate the takeover, a large vacuum was uncovered. The vacuum looks so massive that it was given a proper look.
It was uncovered that a huge sum of funds was lying fallow in the Cayman Islands untouched. This fund is about two-fifths of the bank’s total value and half of its capital.
This led to the set up of a criminal investigation team in the countries where the individuals involved are residents. The countries are Brazil, Britain, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United States. The newly constituted anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), hunted Nwude in Nigeria.
Nelson Sakaguchi was arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and offloaded to
and dispatched to Switzerland to stand trial on charges relating to setting up bank accounts there as part of the fraud
Nwude’s Trial
At the request of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was created by the Nigerian Parliament in 2002.
In 2004, Nwude and his accomplices were arrested by the EFCC and charged 86 counts ranging from bribery and fraudulently seeking advance fees at the Abuja High Court. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, the judge, Lawal Gumi, alleged that there was an attempt to bribe court staff.
Years later, the case was thrown out by Gumi, who stated that the crime wasn’t committed in Abuja as the offense was committed in Lagos, miles away from his jurisdiction.
Nwude and his cohorts were arrested outside the courthouse and taken to Lagos.
This case was one of the major cases of the EFCC after it was constituted. The then chairman of the agency, Nuju Ribadu, alleged that Nwude tried to bribe him with $75,000 cash.
This further made the case complicated for Nwude as charges of attempted bribery and the attempted kidnapping of a prosecution witness added to his existing case.
One of Nwude’s cohort, Amaka Anajemba, admitted to the crime and was sent to two and a half years in prison and ordered to repay $25.5 million.
Later, Emmanuel and one of his accomplices, Nzeribe Okoli, pleaded guilty to the offence after testimony from Sakaguchi. He was then collectively sentenced to 29 years in prison, with Nwude receiving five concurrent sentences of five years, totalling 25 and Okoli receiving four.
This was accompanied by the confiscation of all of Nwude’s assets. It was returned to the victim.
Nwude was released in 2006.
Aftermath
In 2006, Nwude filed a lawsuit to recover his assets after he was released from prison. Stating that some of the assets were acquired before he committed the offence.
He was, however, able to recover $52 Million of it
In a court hearing of the case in 2021, Nwude reportedly stated that he didn’t know about the $242 million airport scam. He said he was convinced by his legal team, led by Dr Chris Uche (SAN) when he was in prison, to make a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.
In 2005, he was handed a 25-year prison sentence following charges encompassing fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. Ultimately, Nwude’s duplicitous actions firmly established him as one of Nigeria’s most renowned scam artists. His fraudulent endeavors inflicted financial losses in the millions upon his victims and tarnished the reputation of Nigeria’s banking industry. It is known as the 3rd Biggest Bank Scam In History.