The story of Emmanuel Nwude who carried out the biggest scam in Nigeria

The story of Emmanuel Nwude who
carried out the biggest scam in Nigeria

Author: Omotayo Yusuf

Category: Local news

In this retro series, NWAMGBO BLOG bring to you the story
of Emmanuel Nwude who committed the largest
fraud in the country by selling a non-existent
airport to a Brazilian for $242 million between 1995
and 1998.
The rise of internet fraud commonly known as 419 is
one phenomenon Nigeria has come to be associated it.
Before internet fraud became a global issue, Nwude
had committed one of the biggest scams in the world.
Specifically, his fraud was the third largest banking
scam in the world after the Nick Leeson's trading
losses at Barings Bank, and the looting of the Iraqi
Central Bank by Qusay Hussein.
How was Nwude able to carry out this jaw-dropping
scam and convince Nelson Sakaguchi who was the
director of the bank to part with so much money for
the purchase of an airport?
Nwude was a former director of Union Bank of Nigeria
and this position made him privy to some links,
information and documents that other persons would
not be aware of. He impersonated the then governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria, Paul Ogwuma, and
connected with Sakaguchi informing him of a mouth-
watering deal of Nigeria’s plan to build an airport in
Abuja.
Emmanuel Nwude carried out one of the the biggest
banking fraud in the world
Nwude, pretending to be the Central Bank of Nigeria
governor, told Sakaguchi that he stood of chance of
pocketing $10 million commission when the deal
passed through. Sakaguchi paid $191 million in cash
and the remainder in the form of outstanding interest.
Nwude’s accomplices were Emmanuel Ofolue, Nzeribe
Okoli, and Obum Osakwe, along with the husband and
wife duo, Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba and Amaka
Anajemba, with Christian later being assassinated.
The criminal gang was able to convince the director of
the Brazilian bank to part with the money.
How did Sakaguchi find out he was a victim of one
of the largest scam in the world?
In 1997, the Spanish Banco Santander wanted to take
over the Banco Noroeste and a joint board meeting
was held in December of that year. Officials of the
Spanish bank noted that half of the Brazilian bank’s
capital was at Cayman Islands unmonitored. This
raised questions as this was two-fifths of Noroeste's
total value.
Investigation began and was carried out in Brazil,
Britain, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United States.
Although the sale of the Bank still went on as the
owners of the bank paid $242 million bill, the nak still
collapsed in 2001.
The birth of the EFCC
In 2002, the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo saw to
the establishment of an anti-graft agency, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nwude’s fraud case one of the first to be investigated
and in 2004, all members of the gang were arraigned
before an Abuja High Court on 86 counts of
"fraudulently seeking advance fees" and 15 counts of
bribery related to the case . Although they pleaded not
guilty, they were warned not to attempt to bribe court
officials as it was suspected that money was going
round.
Nwude has become Nigeria's fraud kingpin after pulling off
one of the biggest 'deals' in history
In 2005, Amaka confessed to helping Anajemba and
was asked to repay $25.5 million and also sentenced to
two and a half years in prison.
Nwude attempted to bribe Nuhu Ribadu, the then
chairman of the EFCC, with $75,000 cash but the latter
refused and Nwude was charged with attempted
bribery as well as attempt to kidnap a prosecuting
witness.
Following Sakaguchi's witness, Nwude finally pleaded
guilty and was sentenced to five concurrent sentences
of five years and was also asked to pay $10 million fine
to the federal government.
He was released from prison in 2006 and filed a case
to reclaim his assets insisting some of them were
acquired before the criminal act. He has so far been
able to reclaim $167 million.
Aftermath
A land dispute in the town of Ukpo in the Dunukofia
area with Abagana community turned bloody when
over 200 men invaded the community killing four
policemen and the security guard at the construction
site in 2016. The Anambra state government fingered
Nwude as the ringleader and he was subsequently
arrested and arraigned on 27 charges including
murder and terrorism. He is being held at Awka prison
as the court case is still on.
While Nwude’s criminal exploit was not the first in the
country, it signified the rise in international financial
crime and popularise the advanced fee fraud syndrome
with Nigeria's name associated with it.