Nigerian Politician Arrested By Police After Laundering Money Via Crypto

Nigerian politicians launder money through crypto. (Photo; Doc. BTCPeers)

JAKARTA Money laundering cases that use crypto assets are increasingly rampant. This time it was carried out by Nigerian politicians. Fortunately, local authorities managed to apprehend politicians suspected of being involved in money laundering activities or money laundry.

According to local media reports, politicians named Wilfred Bonse transferred stolen funds worth US$60,000 (Rp938 million) and US$750,000 (Rp11.6 billion) from crypto exchange Patricia Technology. Bonse sent the stolen funds to his personal account. Previously, the crypto exchange Patricia itself had to lose crypto assets worth more than US$2 million or equivalent to Rp31 billion due to hacking attacks that occurred in early 2023.

In May, Patricia suffered a digital asset loss of more than $2 million after the platform was hacked by hackers. The theft made crypto platforms experiencing financial difficulties and had to seek funding to compensate affected users.

Based on a Bitcoin.com News statement, Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Nigerian police spokesman, said in a press statement that Wilfred Bonse had conspired in money laundering of 50 million naira (Rp4.9 billion) originating from fraud of 607 million naira (Rp59.5 billion) from the company's Patricia Technology account to its bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.

Until now, the police are still investigating the case. Authorities promised to hunt down those responsible for the hack.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Patricia praised the performance of Nigerian law enforcement agencies that managed to arrest Bonse. CEO Hanu Fejiro said that the funds raised would "very help calm [platform] Patricia users."