Days after authorities of the United Arab Emirates arrested Lagos big boy, Raymond Igbalode popularly known as Hushpuppi, Nigeria and the US fight for his custody over multiple scam allegations.
According to a senior Nigerian detective, immediately they got confirmation that he had been arrested in Dubai, “We all started fighting to get him. He is a subject of multiple and conflicting interests between Nigeria and the United States”.
Officials said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) had been leading America’s effort to take possession of Hushpuppi because many of those he allegedly scammed in years of advanced fee fraud were Americans.
Although officials could not immediately estimate the financial value of Hushpuppi’s alleged fraud, they cited poor cooperation from Dubai authorities while expressed confidence his exploits spanned across Europe, U.S. and Nigeria.
Nigerian officials, however, expresses that the UAE authorities had frustrated all their attempts to obtain more than a cursory account of Hushpuppi’s arrest including when and where he was held.
The officials noted: “They are even reluctant to tell us the preliminary charges that they have against him so we could weigh them with the charges that we have against him in Nigeria.”
One of the officials continued that “We know that the money involved would be much for the Americans, but we are optimistic that we will prevail in bringing him to Nigeria to face trial.”
As reported in PREMIUM TIMES, two officials confirmed the arrest and offered preliminary information on account of anonymous with fears that American officials could jettison back channel negotiations that began on Thursday morning.
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