Man Sold a $242 Million 'Airport' to the Largest Bank, Posing as the Governor – Then They Found Out the Airport Never Existed

Scams are not a new development in the world; at a small or big level, they have been damaging societies for decades. But very few scams define a country's identity the way Emmanuel Nwude's heist did, Pulse reported.

Nwude, a thriving businessman from Nigeria, used his connections to facilitate what eventually became the third-biggest private scam in documented history. He convinced Nelson Sakaguchi, the director of Brazil’s Banco Noroeste, to invest in a non-existent airport and raked in a massive sum of $242 million.

Nwude impersonated Paul Ogwuma, then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to entrap Sakaguchi in his plans, Medium reported. He needed more help so he involved Emmanuel Ofolue, Nzeribe Okoli, and Obum Osakwe, along with the husband and wife duo, Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba and Amaka Anajemba as accomplices. Nwude proposed Sakaguchi to invest $242 million in an airport, that was to be built in his country's capital. The victim took the bait.

Sakaguchi on behalf of Banco Noroeste agreed to pay $191 million in cash and the remainder as outstanding interest between 1995 and 1998, Medium reported. For three years Nwude and his accomplices barring Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba used the money meant for the imaginary airport to fulfill their personal interests. Christian Ikechukwu Anajemba died before the money entered the team's accounts.

The fraud was discovered when Banco Noroeste became the subject of a buy-out by the Spanish bank, Santander, Pulse reported. At a joint board meeting, an official from Santander raised queries regarding a huge sum of bank funds, two-fifths of Noroeste’s total value and half of their capital, sitting unmonitored in the Cayman Islands. Authorities in Brazil, Britain, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United States were informed, where the suspected perpetrators were citizens.

The anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) hunted Nwude and arrested him for his involvement in the scam, Medium reported. Sakaguchi was also detained from New York and charged with setting up bank accounts in Switzerland to facilitate the fraud. His case went on trial in Switzerland.

Nwude and his accomplices were charged with 86 counts ranging from bribery and fraudulently seeking advance fees at the Abuja High Court, Medium reported. After years the case was thrown out by the judge claiming that the incidents did not occur in Abuja, so the crimes did not fall under the court's jurisdiction. The suspects were arrested outside the court premises the same day by authorities and taken to Lagos for further legal proceedings. 

During the proceedings at Lagos, EFCC chief, Nuju Ribadu, alleged that Nwude attempted to bribe him with $75,000 cash, Medium reported. This led to the addition of attempted bribery to his list of charges. His troubles increased when authorities accused him of kidnapping a witness and the prosecution included the respective charge. 

The prosecution gained a breakthrough when Amaka Anajemba confessed to her involvement, Medium reported. She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and instructed to pay $25.5 million. Nwude followed suit and also pleaded guilty. He was handed a sentence of 25 years but was released in 2006. All of his accomplices went through similar fates during the proceedings.

While Nwude was in custody, many of his assets were confiscated by the government, Medium reported. He got a large portion of it back after filing a case against the authorities.

Banco Noroeste was practically ruined as a result of the scam, Pulse reported. The owners had to pay the $242 million out of their pockets. The loss proved to be too much to bear, and the bank had to shut operations in 2001. Justice Joseph Oyewole reportedly said during his final judgment, "The activities of the accused persons not only led to the collapse of a bank in a foreign country but also brought miseries to many innocent people."