Police arrest fake world bank official over $250,000 fraud scam

The Nigeria Police Force( NPF) has arrested a suspect accused of posing as a World Bank official to defraud victims of more than $250,000 in a cross-border scam spanning several years.

Police identified the suspect as Agbor Martins Black-Diamond, who was allegedly apprehended on March 31 after intelligence was received from the East Africa Sub-Sahara Africa Safe Promotion Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to Anthony Placid, police spokesman, two Kenyan victims, Julius Kithome and Cynthia Kithome, were introduced to the suspect by another individual in Nairobi.

Investigators said the suspect falsely claimed to represent the World Bank and other United States-based donor organisations, convincing the victims to pay large sums as registration and administrative fees for promised funding.

“No funding was ever secured. Instead, the suspect organised sham symposiums in Nigeria and South Africa,” the police said.

Authorities added that in 2024, the suspect allegedly persuaded the victims to obtain a bank loan using family property as collateral to access a non-existent $850,000 empowerment fund in Ghana.

Police said financial analysis confirmed substantial transfers from the Kenyan victims, including $57,975 sent between February and July 2023.

Investigators also discovered that the suspect’s foundation, Black Diamond African Beauty Restoration Foundation, was not registered in Nigeria. He was later said to have registered another company, United African Continent Limited, in November 2024 to legitimise the operation.

The police further alleged that the suspect expanded the scheme to local farmers in Kuje Area Council, collecting ₦50,000 each under the guise of empowerment and capacity building.

In a separate case, officers arrested a former employee of NewLife Ventures Makurdi, Chinedu Mbachu, over alleged unauthorised modification of computer systems, cybersquatting and diversion of funds.

Ayodele Daramola and Dada Babatunde Oluwatobi, the two other suspects were also arrested over an alleged ₦85 million fraud involving unauthorised access to company systems and diversion of funds.

Police said about ₦61 million linked to the fraud was allegedly spent on online gambling and betting platforms.