US court jails Nigerian Fintech executives for $ 167 million money laundering

The Texas court in Texas has sentenced two Nigerian founders of a fintech company to 27 months in prison for their role in sending $ 160 million in fraudulent revenue to Nigeria through their company. Ping Express US LLC.

According to a statement released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday, the firm acknowledged that it has failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering and unlicensed money transfer program for the past three years.

The company also admitted that it did not seek sufficient information about the sources or the purpose of the funds involved in the transactions.

The Texas-based company’s CEO, Anslem Oshionebo, 45, and its co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Opeyemi Odeyale, 43, were both sentenced to 27 months in prison for their involvement in the alleged crimes, according to U.S. law. documents.

The company’s IT / Business Development Manager also received a prison sentence of 42 months after he pleaded guilty to knowingly transferring illegal funds.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad Meacham, said the Texas-based company, which was licensed to transfer money but was not licensed to conduct currency exchange, charged U.S. clients a fee for transferring money to recipients in Nigeria. and other African nations.

Referring to some of the company’s complaint documents, the US government said that the company also admitted that it allowed more than “1500 customers” to violate its anti-money laundering policy.

The company outlined its anti-money laundering policy in a note to state regulators, claiming that it would limit first-time customer transactions to $ 499, limit daily transactions to $ 3,000 and limit monthly transactions to $ 4,500.

“But in court documents, the company admitted that it allowed more than 1,500 customers to break these rules. In one case, Ping allowed a customer to pay more than $ 80,000 in a single month – more than 17 times the alleged limit,” it said in part. in the statement from the DoJ.

“Over a 3-year period, Ping Express US LLC helped customers pay a total of $ 167 million to Africa. Of this amount, $ 160 million was transferred to Nigeria. And the company was said to have failed to verify the sources of the funds or what they were intended for, Mecham said.

Dallas Christopher Miller, the acting special agent in charge of homeland investigation, said the investigation gives the agency access to a number of financial networks, enabling HSI to dismantle any criminal organization trying to take advantage of international trade.

“Through our specialized agents and forensic accountants, we work endlessly to eradicate crimes involving money laundering and cash smuggling,” Miller said.

“Our investigative reach provides access to a wide range of financial networks that allow HSI to disrupt any criminal organization attempting to exploit global trade.”

Three people, including two of Ping Express’ most important customers, have previously pleaded guilty to using the company to transfer money that was obtained illegally, according to the DOJ statement.

Other culprits

According to the DOJ, three people, including two of Ping Express’ most important customers, have previously pleaded guilty to using the company to transfer money that was obtained illegally.

Collins Orogun admitted last week that he accepted a fee in exchange for transferring money to “romantic scam” scammers and other criminals.

“In one case, an Indiana woman sent $ 15,000 to ‘Carson Jacks’, an alleged oil raid in the Gulf of Mexico she fell in love with online, after he told her he had malaria. In another, another Indiana woman sent $ 6,300 to “Thomas Ken”, an alleged Irish ship captain she fell in love with online, to fix his ship.

“In two years, Orogun received more than $ 1.3 million in cash, cash checks and transfers to several US bank accounts he controlled, and then he quickly moved more than $ 1 million of the funds to Africa through Ping Express.

“He risks up to 20 years in federal prison and is set to be sentenced on January 23, 2023,” the statement said.