Online cams: Bakare, Alimi steal $750K, N120m from BA, KLM, Turkish Airlines

Two online scammers, Tobiloba Ibrahim Bakare and Seun Sikiru Alimi were today sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for stealing $750,000 (N285m) and N120 million from KLM, Turkish Airline and British Airways.

The sentences were summarily handed over by Ikeja Special Offences Court.

The convicts were arraigned on Wednesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for hacking into the electronic mails of the airlines and stealing the sums.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo convicted and jailed the duo after they entered into a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.

They pleaded guilty to the seven-count charge filed against them.

According to the EFCC, the stolen funds were laundered by the duo through First Bank of Nigeria, Sterling Bank and Polaris Bank.

Before their conviction, EFCC counsel, Mr Idris Mohammed, told the court that the offences contravened Sections 411 and 328(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and punishable under Section 328 of the law.

While reviewing the facts of the case, the counsel said that the anti-graft agency had on Sept. 2, 2020, received intelligence about suspicious transactions and money laundering.

He said that it led to an investigation by the Advance Fee Fraud Section of the commission.

Mohammed said that the investigation led to the arrest of one Kehinde Adelakun, who was convicted by the court in October 2020.

The prosecutor told the court that Sikiru’s name and his company, Alvine First Resources Ventures, came up during investigation of Adelakun.

He said that Sikiru operated corporate accounts with First Bank and Sterling Bank.

“Upon analysis of the two accounts belonging to the second defendant, several inflows were discovered from different companies between March and July 2020.