Police arrest woman for N700m forex fraud

Police IG Ibrahim Kpotun Idris.

The Police Special Fraud Unit on Wednesday said it had arrested a 36-year-old woman for allegedly posing as a bureau-de-change operator to defraud several persons of N700 million.

The unit’s spokesman, ASP Audu Lawal, said that the suspect was arrested in Ghana through the collaborative efforts of the PSFU and the Ghanaian Police.

“I want to advise the public to desist from patronising unregistered bureau-de-change operators for foreign exchange and other transactions.

“This suspect falsely presented herself to her victims as a commissioned agent for some manufacturers overseas and provider of forex services.

“She allegedly collected the sum of N700 million into her designated domiciliary accounts named Reoworld Enterprises and Willyrich International Business Services in one of the new generation banks,’’ Lawal said.

He said that the suspect failed to remit the money paid into her accounts to the victims’ overseas business partners and relocated to Ghana where she was allegedly enjoying the ill-gotten proceeds.

According to the PSFU spokesman, all the monies collected from victims were deposited into the two company bank accounts from where she transferred it to other accounts.

Lawal said that further investigations led to the arrest of the account holders of both Reoworld Enterprises and Willyrich International Business Service whose bank details were used in committing the crime.

He said that the suspect was also wanted by other financial crime agencies such as the EFCC and INTERPOL for other financial crimes.