Musings From Abroad

29-year-old Nigerian, Chidozie Obasi, declared wanted in US over $31 million wire fraud

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2022

Chidozie Collins Obasi, a 29-year-old has been indicted for conspiracy to16 counts of wire fraud in the United States.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) in the weekend, declared Obasi wanted for defrauding hospitals in the New York Area to the tune of $31 million.

The heist, which was perpetrated between September 2018 and June 2020, involved offering non-existent COVID-19 ventilators for sale in hospitals mostly in the New York area.

According to a statement by the DOJ, all allegations against Nigerian stem from a complicated, evolving fraud scheme that initially targeted Americans through a spam email campaign offering illegitimate “work from home” jobs, and

The crime shifted to targeting U.S. hospitals and medical systems by offering non-existent ventilators for sale beginning in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and finally shifted again in June 2020 to using the stolen identity information of American citizens to apply for and obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EID Loans”).

While Nigeria is a leading tech base in Africa, the country unfortunately also ranks high in the rate of internet crimes. In 2020 Nigeria was ranked 16th among the countries most affected by internet crime in the world 2020 in a report by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Related Topics:Chidozie Obasi FBI Featured

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Musings From Abroad

Brazilian meatpacker JBS invests $2.5 billion in Nigeria, builds six facilities

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Brazilian meatpacker JBS says it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for a $2.5 billion investment plan that will include the construction of six new plants in the African nation.

Three of the plants would deal in poultry, two in beef, and one in pork, according to a statement from JBS.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, JBS stated that it would develop a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, which would include budget estimates, feasibility studies, and an action plan for the development of the local supply chain.

The Nigerian government would then guarantee the sanitary, regulatory, and economic conditions required for the project’s viability, JBS continued.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.