Nigerian Instagram celebrity Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi has alleged that he bribed deputy commissioner of police Abba Kyari to jail an accomplice in a $1.1million scam, a statement by the US justice department revealed on Wednesday.
Hushpuppi was arrested in June last year in Dubai, UAE and extradited to the US where many of his victims are based.
According to the statement, Hushpuppi and several other persons in the US and Africa conspired to steal the said amount from a businessperson attempting to finance the construction of a school for children in Qatar.
Court documents ordered unsealed on Wednesday show that Hushpuppi, 37, pleaded guilty on April 20, the statement said.
It further said that Hushpuppi asked Mr Kyari to jail Kelly Chibuzor Vincent, his colleague, after both were locked in a dispute over how to share the $1.1 million loot received from the Qatari businessperson.
Vincent contacted the victim and informed him that he was being scammed by Hushpuppi’s syndicate.
As stated in the documents, this enraged Hushpuppi who allegedly contacted Kyari to arrest and jail him.
Hushpuppi was also quoted as saying that Kyari allegedly sent photos of Vincent in jail and followed this up with a bank account number to which a wire transfer should be made for the successful arrest and detention of his co-fraudster.
The statement read in part: “Court documents outline a dispute among members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the victim and claim that Abbas and Juma were engaged in fraud. After this contact, Abbas allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria by Abba Alhaji Kyari, 46, of Nigeria.
“According to the affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest. Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment.”
Some of the co-conspirators were arrested in New York and New Jersey on July 22, and are expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in August.