The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) and the state cyber cell in India have arrested a Nigerian man for allegedly defrauding a man from Almora out of Rs 1.85 crore under the guise of offering his son a job at the US-based oil giant Shell in London.
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According to a police statement issued on Monday, March 6, the accused, identified as Obi Philip Chekwube, was arrested from Tughlakabad in Delhi on Saturday night, March 4, 2023, during the investigation of a case filed on Suresh Arya’s complaint.
Chekwube committed the fraud after contacting Arya through a fake social media account of a woman in 2017, according to Ayush Agrawal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), STF.
Chekwube, posing as a woman, told Arya that he could get his son a job in Shell, London, after befriending him on Facebook. Arya fell for the ruse and transferred funds to a bank account number provided by Chekwube on multiple occasions in the name of insurance bonds, high court verification, IMF charges, KYC fees, customs fees, and other expenses until 2022. Arya lodged a complaint against the unidentified accused on January 8 after realizing he had been duped,” said Agrawal, adding that the accused was tracked down in Delhi based on the cyber evidence.
The police have filed a case against Chekwube at the Cyber Police Station under sections 420, 120 (B) of the IPC, and 66 (D) of the IT Act.
“He was apprehended in Tughlakabad, Delhi. During the investigation, it was discovered that he had previously been arrested in Delhi for violating the Foreigners Act. “He’d be brought before a local court soon,” Agrawal said.
In charge of the Kumaon cyber cell LM According to Joshi, the accused committed the fraud using approximately 25 email IDs and several SIM cards. He has previously been involved in similar crimes.
“His modus operandi involved creating fake social media profiles using pictures of foreign women. He would send out friend requests and then entice them with various enticements such as job offers abroad, investments, and gift parcels. “He’d then defraud the victims of large sums of money,” Joshi explained.
