A Nigerian politician, Ambassador Wilfred Bonse, has been apprehended by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in connection with a security breach suffered by crypto exchange Patricia Technologies Limited. This development comes as Patricia fails to meet her schedule for repaying debt to her clients following a $2 million exploit in 2022.
Former Nigerian gubernatorial candidate implicated in theft and money laundering
In a press conference On November 24, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and Public Relations Officer of the NPF, provided an update on the investigation into a “complex financial fraud case” submitted in a petition by Patricia Technologies Limited to to the police.
PRESS BULLETIN BY THE FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, ACP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI ON THE ACHIEVEMENTS RECORDED BY THE FNP-NCCC
NPF-NCCC ARRESTS WILFRED BOSE IN CONNECTION WITH PATRICIA SECURITY BREACH AND COMPLEX FINANCIAL FRAUD
Likewise, the NPF-NCCC has made significant progress…
– Nigerian Police Force (@PoliceNG) November 24, 2023
This petition highlighted several crimes, including alleged thefts, illegal conversion of assets into crypto wallets, and unauthorized misappropriation of funds from Patricia’s Flutterwave account.
Additionally, Patricia’s petition also mentioned the names of specific suspects currently on the run. However, the FNP was able to apprehend one Amb. Wilfred Bonse, Nigerian politician and former governorship candidate for Cross River State in the last national elections.
Bonse admitted his involvement in this financial crime, stating that his bank account was used in the laundering of 50 million naira ($62,368.30) out of a total of 607 million naira ($757,151.16) stolen from Patricia’s business account.
Reacting to this development, the CEO of Patricia, Hanu Fejiro Agbodje, Express respite during the arrest of one of the culprits of a financial scheme which cost the company dearly.
He said:
“It’s a big relief. We were ultimately vindicated as many did not believe us that our platform had been hacked in the first place. But thanks to the diligence of the Nigeria Police Force and the unwavering commitment of my colleagues, we are delighted that our customers now have more reason to continue to trust us. The dark days are over.
Patricia does not respect the debt repayment schedule
Furthermore, Patricia’s troubles persist since the Nigerian stock market has no longer managed to respect its debt repayment plan. In October, Patricia promised its customers that it would begin refunding funds on November 20 using a batch format based on a first-come, first-served basis.
The statement comes after the Nigerian stock exchange halted withdrawals in May due to a high level of withdrawal requests after reports emerged that the trading platform suffered a $2 million hack last year. However, days after the proposed redemption date, several users of the crypto exchange still do not have access to their funds, drawing greater scrutiny of the embattled crypto exchange.
Total crypto market cap valued at $1.406 trillion | Source: TOTAL chart on Tradingview.com
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview
