A Nigerian national, Abiola Kayode, 37, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, U.S., to face charges related to a $6 million Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), working in collaboration with Ghanaian authorities, successfully secured his transfer following a U.S. extradition request.
Kayode, who had been on the FBI’s most-wanted list, appeared before Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson on December 11, 2024. He was ordered to remain detained pending trial on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, stemming from an indictment filed in August 2019.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Kayode participated in the BEC scheme between January 2015 and September 2016. The scheme defrauded businesses across Nebraska and other states by impersonating executives of targeted companies through spoofed emails. Employees, believing the requests to be legitimate, wired funds to bank accounts controlled by Kayode and his co-conspirators.
Kayode is alleged to have provided account details for receiving and redistributing stolen funds. Many of these accounts belonged to victims of internet romance scams, further complicating the web of fraud.
The FBI has already secured convictions for several of Kayode’s co-conspirators, including Adewale Aniyeloye, sentenced to 96 months in prison, and Pelumi Fawehinimi, sentenced to 72 months, both in 2019. Other co-conspirators, including Alex Ogunshakin and Onome Ijomone, have also been convicted following extraditions from Nigeria and Poland.
“Abiola Kayode is the second of the identified co-conspirators to be extradited to Nebraska. Our message to the remaining four: we are coming for you,” stated FBI Omaha Special Agent Eugene Kowel.
The FBI lauded its collaboration with Ghanaian agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Justice, Ghana Police Service INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service, in securing Kayode’s extradition. This case underscores the commitment of international law enforcement to dismantling cybercriminal networks preying on individuals and businesses worldwide.
The investigation was led by the FBI, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Further developments are expected as the case proceeds.