A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, court has ordered the freeze of the Nigerian bank accounts of Abidemi Rufai as well as the seizure of his Lekki home in Lagos.
The suspended Senior Special Assistant to Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun is accused of wire fraud and unemployment scam in America.
The court order, which was granted on Tuesday, covered Rufai’s property at House 11, Omodayo Awotuga Street, Bera Estate, Chevy View, Lekki, Lagos, and funds in his accounts domiciled in Sterling and Zenith banks.
Justice Tijjani Ringim made the order sequel to an ex parte motion filed and argued by Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) counsel, Ebuka Okongwu.
Joined in the suit as 1st and 3rd respondents are Rufai and his firm, Omo Mayodele Global Investment.
Okongwu told the court that it was important to prevent further dissipation of the defendants’ funds.
The lawyer tendered an affidavit sworn to by an EFCC investigator, Usman Abdulhamid, containing details of Rufai’s probe in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The defendant already dissipated a suspicious N29.37million in tranches of N5,000,000, N5,000,000, N2,730,000, N1,100,000, N2,040,000, N2,000,000, N2,000,000 and N5,000,000 in banks, Abdulhamid revealed.
Rufai has been in United States government custody since his arrest on May 14, 2021, at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The defendant was charged with defrauding the Washington State Employment Security Department of over $350,000.
Rufai allegedly boycotted the US data system using 10 different emails in 14 days.
The act violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
The Nigerian is being prosecuted at the District Court for the Western District of Washington
One of the charges said at Olympia, within the Western District of Washington, and elsewhere, Rufai, a/k/a Sandy Tang, “knowingly transferred, possessed, and used, without lawful authority, means of identification of other persons, and did aid and abet the same”.
Rufai is accused of submitting claims to the Washington Employment Security Department using the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of the persons.
The offences are in relation to felonies listed in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(c).
