The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) reported the arrest of Wilfred Bonse, a former candidate for the Cross River governorship, in connection with a security breach and financial fraud affecting Patricia, a cryptocurrency firm.
Bonse, who ran for the Cross River governorship in 2023 under the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), allegedly conspired to launder N50 million, derived from the fraudulent diversion of N607 million from Patricia.
Muyiwa Adejobi, the NPF public relations officer (PRO), stated in a Friday release that Bonse received the funds through his bank account using a cryptocurrency wallet. The amount is part of the N2 billion lost by Patricia due to a security breach on its crypto processing platform in May 2023.
Adejobi highlighted the police’s painstaking efforts, executed through their national cybercrime center (NPF-NCCC), which ultimately led to Bonse’s arrest. He emphasized the significant strides made in the investigation of the intricate financial fraud case reported by Patricia.
“The case involves a criminal conspiracy, unauthorised modification of computer systems, network data, and the unlawful diversion of funds amounting to over Two hundred million naira (N200,000,000:00k) as contained in a petition to the inspector general of Police,” the PRO said.
“Outlining the details of the alleged theft, conversion of cryptocurrency wallets, and unauthorised fund diversion from the company’s Flutterwave account, the petition specifically mentioned some individuals currently at large.
“Having registered his involvement in the complex crime. Wilfred Bonse conspired in laundering the sum of fifty million naira (N50,000,000:00k) originating from the fraudulent diversion of six hundred and seven million naira (N607,000,000:00k) from Patricia Technology company’s account to his bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.
“While the investigation is ongoing, the Nigeria Police Force wishes to assure the public that all individuals involved in this criminal conspiracy will be brought to justice.”
This is not the first case of Bonse’s involvement in cyber fraud.
In February, the politician was accused of benefitting at least N40 million from a cyber fraud scheme executed by a group of hackers identified as ‘The Syndicate’.
Commenting on Bonse’s arrest, Hanu Agbodje, founder of Patricia, said the politician was used “to steal N607,000,000 from Patricia”.
“This is not all the monies lost, but recovery from this would go a long way to soothe Patricia users,” Agbodje said.
“The case is still being investigated, the hackers used politicians to launder the stolen money. All of whom would be brought to the book. One by One.
“My commitment remains to Patricia users, Repayment started on the 20th of November, and it would continue. Until every user is reached.”
Agbodje said he takes the new development as a win even though the company still has some grounds to cover.
