The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has taken a man named Rufus John Isip to court. He says he is a forex broker, which means he helps people trade foreign money. But, the EFCC thinks he tricked people out of 2 billion Naira! The court is in Uyo, a place in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said on Saturday that Rufus John Isip was not alone. His company, ITM-IT Resources Limited, was also in trouble. They both faced eight charges. These charges were about lying to get money, washing the money to hide it, and pretending to be something they are not to trick people.
Let’s look at one of the charges. The charge said that Rufus and his company lied to a man named Michael Okon. They told Michael that they would invest his money in an online platform called Vandera. Michael gave them 431 million Naira, but Rufus and his company never invested it like they promised. This trick is against the law and they got caught.
When the court read the charges to Rufus, he said he was not guilty. The EFCC’s lawyer, Khamis Mahmud, asked the court to keep Rufus in their custody. The judge, Justice Onah, agreed to this and Rufus is now in the EFCC’s custody in Uyo. The judge also said that the court will look into the matter again on October 14, 2024.
The EFCC’s statement said that Michael George, another person, had also complained about Rufus. Michael George said that Rufus convinced him to invest in an online trading platform called Vandora.io. Rufus told Michael George that he needed at least $100,000 to start. Rufus also said that if Michael George got more people to invest, they could all earn more money.
Michael George believed Rufus and invested his money. He also told other people and companies to invest. They all put their money into Vandora.io. But after 60 days, when they were supposed to start earning profits, Rufus vanished! He was nowhere to be found, and everyone realized they had been tricked.