EFCC arrests 19-year-old for ‘defrauding British citizen of £450k’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested one Iredia Endurance, identified as a 19-year-old, over alleged fraud.

According to the anti-graft agency, Endurance allegedly defrauded one Christine Brown, a British citizen, of the sum of £450,000.

EFCC, in a statement on Tuesday, said Endurance was arrested by its Benin zonal command following a petition by Brown.

The anti-graft agency said the suspect confessed that he received the money in Bitcoin and gift cards.

“Endurance, who claimed to be 19 years old, was recently arrested by the commission sequel to a petition by one Christine Brown, a British citizen, alleging that the suspect defrauded her of £450,000,” EFCC said.

“Upon arrest, the suspect confessed he received £250,000.00 from the complainant in Bitcoin, FedEx, and gift cards.

“On what he did with the money, the suspect averred that they were expended on cars, gold chains, landed properties, among others.

“Some of the items recovered from the suspect include mobile phones, laptops, sim cards and landed property.

“The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.”

In October, the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) said phishing and online scams are the biggest current threats to law enforcement agencies in Africa.

Interpol had also said the rapid growth of financial technology (fintech) companies in Africa has led to a sharp increase in online banking fraud across the continent.