The forfeited assets include the sums of N196, 741, 216.82 and N7, 054, 852.01 in bank accounts; two vehicles, a Mercedes Benz E500 and a Toyota Hilux 2020.
Others are; five bedroom duplex situated at Ibrahim Eleto Street, Osapa London, Lekki, Lagos, four bedroom semi-detached duplex situated at Ologolo, Jakande, Lekki, Lagos and another four bedroom semi-detached duplex in Southern View Estate, Mayor Court, Chevron Alternative Road, Lekki, Lagos.
The two vehicles are valued at N30million while the three duplexes are valued at N230million.
The fraudsters gave up the assets as they could not give satisfactory explanation of the funds and properties linked to them. They confessed to involvement in cybercrime. Bakare, 27, an indigene of Ijebu Ode, Ogun State claimed his forte is Business Email Compromise, and that he had hacked into different companies outside the shores of Nigeria.
The scammers had been successful in their ignoble trade, earning a cumulative sum of $1million USD from victims including three foreign airlines through Business Email Compromise fraud. They laundered the proceeds of crime in acquiring properties including real estate and luxury vehicles.
Their problem began in September 2020, when Operatives of the Commission, in the course of investigating a case of suspicious transactions and money laundering involving one Kehinde Adelakun, a convicted internet fraudster, stumbled on evidence linking Alvine International Resources Ventures, owned by the second defendant, Sikiru.
The transaction that sets off the alarm bell was an inflow of N5million in two tranches from Alvine International Resources Ventures.
The second defendant, in his statement to the Commission , admitted that majority of the funds found in his account were from the first defendant, Bakare, who confessed to being into Business Email Compromise, BEC, between 2009 and 2020 and also hacking into the accounts of KLM, Turkish Airlines and British Airways.
Another count reads: “Tobiloba Ibrahim Bakare and Alimi Seun Sikiru, sometime in 2020 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court , with a dishonest intent, retained four -bedroom detached duplex situated at Ologolo Jakande, Lekki, Lagos.”
They pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charges preferred against them.
Delivering judgment, Justice Taiwo noted that the action of the defendants was “responsible for giving Nigeria a bad image globally, whereby the average Nigerian is looked upon as being untrustworthy and fraudulent”. She convicted and sentenced Bakare, to three years imprisonment on counts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, with the option of fine of N3m (Three Million Naira).
The Judge also convicted and sentenced Sikiru, to three years imprisonment on counts 1 and 5 with an option of fine of N1 million (One Million Naira).
