How Hushpuppi bribed DCP Abba Kyari to jail associate in $1.1m scam

Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, the embattled Nigerian socialite, alleged that he bribed a deputy commissioner of police (DCP),  Abba Kyari, to arrest a co-fraudster, Chibuzo Vincent,  the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California revealed.

Newsflash Nigeria had reported that the Instagram personality, who is known for his luxury life, was arrested in the UAE in June 2020 alongside 11 of his associates over allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.

His extradition to the US had followed after the UAE police detailed his arrest in a special operation dubbed ‘Fox Hunt 2’ where he was accused of defrauding 1.9 million victims to the tune of N168 billion.

Hushpuppi was thereafter arraigned and detained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago ahead of his trial.

The embattled Instagram celebrity had recently pleaded guilty to the money laundering charges against him, risking 20 years imprisonment.

But in a fresh development, US court officials said during interrogation, Hushpuppi disclosed that he bribed Kyari to arrest and jail one of his rivals in Nigeria after a dispute over a $1.1 million scam on Qatari businesspeople.

According to a statement by the US department of justice, Hushpuppi asked Kyari to jail Kelly Chibuzor Vincent, his colleague, after both were

locked in a dispute over how to share the $1.1 million loot received from the Qatari businessperson.

In the filings by the officials, Vincent was said to have contacted the victim and informed him that he was being scammed by Hushpuppi’s syndicate.

As stated in the documents, this enraged Hushpuppi who was said to have contacted Kyari to arrest and jail him.

Hushpuppi was also quoted as saying that Kyari allegedly sent photos of Vincent in jail and followed this up with a bank account number to which a wire transfer should be made for the successful arrest and detention of his co-fraudster.

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The statement read: “Court documents outline a dispute among members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the victim and claim that Abbas and Juma were engaged in fraud. After this contact, Abbas allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria by Abba Alhaji Kyari, 46, of Nigeria.

“According to the affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest. Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment.”

Kristi K. Johnson, assistant director of the FBI’s LA field office, said: “Mr. Abbas, among the high-profile money launderers in the world, admitted to his significant role in global BEC fraud, a scheme plaguing Americans.

“His celebrity status and ability to make connections seeped into legitimate organizations and led to several spin-off schemes in the U.S. and abroad.

“Today’s announcement deals a crucial blow to this international network and hopefully serves as a warning to potential victims targeted with this type of theft.”

The court said Hushpuppi, who pleaded guilty to various charges, including money laundering, wire fraud, and felony, among others, used Kyari, a leader of the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team, to jail Vincent.

According to the indictment, Hushpuppi allegedly conspired with five others — including Vincent — to defraud a businessperson in Qatar by claiming to be consultants and bankers who could facilitate a loan to finance the construction of a school.

Hushpuppi’s associates include 40-year-old Vincent from Nigeria; and 28-year-old Abdulrahman Juma from Kenya.

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Others are Yusuf Anifowoshe, 26; Rukayat Fashola, 28; and Bolatito Agbabiaka, 34.

However, Hushpuppi allegedly hunted Vincent after a dispute broke out among the team.

The indictment stated that Juma allegedly posed as a facilitator and consultant for the illusory bank loans, while Hushpuppi played the role of ‘Malik’, a Wells Fargo banker in New York, according to court documents.

“Vincent, in turn, allegedly provided support for the false narratives fed to the victim by, among other things, creating bogus documents and arranging for the creation of a fake bank website and phone banking line,” it read.

Hushpuppi and the five others allegedly defrauded the victim of more than $1.1m and laundered the proceeds of the fraud in several ways, the document noted.

“Approximately $230,000 of the stolen funds allegedly were used to purchase a Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which was hand-delivered to Abbas in Dubai and subsequently appeared in Hushpuppi’s social media posts.”

Continuing, the court document states that, “Court documents outline a dispute among members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the victim and claim that Abbas [Hushpuppi] and Juma were engaged in fraud. After this contact, Abbas allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria by Abba Alhaji Kyari, 46, of Nigeria.

 “According to the affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest. Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment.”

Efforts to reach Kyari for comments proved abortive as his phone line was switched off. He had not also responded to a text message sent to his phone line as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, Anifowoshe, Fashola and Agbabiaka were arrested in New York and New Jersey on July 22, 2021, and are expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in August 2021.

In a plea agreement document sighted by Newsflash Nigeria on Wednesday, Hushpuppi pleaded guilty as charged.

The document was signed by Hushpuppi; his lawyer, Loius Shapiro; and Acting United States Attorney, Tracy Wilkison, among others.

It stated that Hushpuppi risks “20 years’ imprisonment; a three-year period of supervised release; a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offence.”

The document, however, did not mention the date of the plea hearing.

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