A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday, October 7th
temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government the N280,555,010.65 found in
bank accounts belonging to two companies owned by Obinwanne Okeke also known as
Invictus Obi.
The companies are: Invictus Oil and Gas Ltd and Invictus
Investment Limited. Okeke is standing trial in the United States of American
for an alleged $11m cyber fraud following his indictment alongside 77
Nigerians.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told
Justice Rilwan Aikawa that Okeke, 31, was “a strong leader of a cybercrime
syndicate specialized in business email compromise.” Justice Aikawa made an
order for the temporary forfeiture of the sums of N240,250,904.46 and
N40,304,106.19, which the anti-graft agency said it found in the Nigerian bank
accounts of Invictus Oil and Gas Limited and Invictus Investment Limited,
respectively.
EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo told the court that the funds
were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of cybercrime and urged the judge to
order the forfeiture to the Federal Government to prevent Okeke from
dissipating same.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, EFCC
investigator, Ariyo Muritala, said the commission assigned him and others to
investigate a request for information on Okeke and three others by the United
States Department of Justice, Office of the Legal Attache, US Consulate
General.
“I know as a fact and verily believe that our investigation
has revealed the following ear-aching and mind-boggling findings: (a) That the
Obinwanne George Okeke is a strong leader of a cybercrime syndicate specialized
in business email compromise.
(b) That the said syndicate has defrauded many innocent and
unsuspecting victims (g) That the said Obiwanne George Okeke has been arrested
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States of America for
cybercrime-related offences (h) That if these funds are not forfeited to the
Federal Government of Nigeria Obiwanne George Okeke and his cronies will
dissipate same,” Muritala said in the affidavit.
Oyedepo argued that Justice Aikawa had the power to make the
interim forfeiture order by virtue of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and
other related Fraud Offence Act No. 14, 2006. The judge agreed with him and
ordered the temporary forfeiture of the funds.
Okeke was in 2016 celebrated by Forbes International as one
of Africa’s most outstanding 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30 and described
by the magazine as “proof that there is hope for Africa.”
He was arrested in August this year by the American Federal
Bureau of Investigation as the ringleader of a cybercrime syndicate, which had
defrauded a number of American citizens to the tune of $11m “through fraudulent
wire transfer instructions in a massive coordinated business email compromise
scheme.”
