Nigerian Prince and Lawyer jailed in the UK for 1.8m pounds fraud

On October 12, 2016, Cresswell Gardens based 53-year old Nigerian Lawyer,

His offence was heading a £1.8 million scam in the United Kingdom. He had initially jumped bail from the UK to Nigeria upon indictment.

However, the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit(DCPCU) led a sting operation that eventually led to his arrest and extradition to the UK.

According to Instablog9ja, this was not his first, ‘rodeo,’ Otukoya has a rap sheet of previous fraud convictions. This time, he headed a Luton gang that committed those crimes worth £1.8 million.

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How did that rack up that amount?

It’s called cheque interception. His gang would divert cheques meant for local businesses who use Royal Mail Postal Services in Luton and claim the cash entitlements on those cheques.

To execute his criminal cause, he recruited Moshin Abbass and Anjam Shah to abuse their positions as employees of Royal Mail Sorting Office and steal the said cheques, meant for local businesses.

Over a period spanning a few months, they had intercepted and diverted cheques of up to £1.8 million in total and paid the proceeds into business bank accounts.

These accounts were owned and controlled by Otukoya and made to bear similar names to whatever cheque they had diverted — it was a complex scheme that only an evil genuine could maneuver.

Initial indictment

In 2014, he was indicted for his crimes but was granted bail. During that time, he jumped bail and came to Nigeria.

He was traced to Nigeria and extradited back to the UK to answer for his crimes after a Nigerian court’s approval in April 2018.

According to Luton Today, Detective Constable Jeremy Boxall, who is currently the lead officer on the case for the DCPCU, said: “Otukoya played a leading role in committing large-scale fraud against local businesses and then tried to escape punishment by fleeing abroad.

“Now, thanks to close cooperation between the British and Nigerian authorities, he is facing justice back in the UK.

“This sends a strong message to others considering following a similar path — you will be caught and punished.”

In 2016, Abbass and Shah were imprisoned for four and five years respectively. Upon arraignment in 2018, Otukoya pled guilty for his crimes.

He was then sentenced to five years in prison.