This man pulled off an insane scam by selling an airport to a Brazilian bank for over $200 million.
Was he a government official?
No
Was he paid in full?
Yes
Did the airport exist?
No
This is Emmanuel Nwude. He was a director at Union Bank of Nigeria. Between 1995 and 1998 he carried out one of the most unbelievable scams in history.
It all started when he came up with an elaborate plan ...… A plan to impersonate Paul Ogwuma, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria at the time. Using that identity, he approached Banco Noroeste, a major investment bank in Brazil, and told them that Nigeria was about to build a brand-new airport in Abuja, and that Banco Noroeste had an exclusive opportunity to invest in the project. He promised early access, guaranteed returns, and a $10 million commission once the project was complete—to make the lie believable. Mr. Nwude used forged documents, official letterheads, insider banking language.
This was enough to convince the executive at Banco Noroeste. Over the next three years, the bank wired a total sum of US$242 million to Nwude and his accomplices. But the project did not exist. There were no government approvals, no blueprint, not even any land reserved for it.
Nwude and his crew spent the money. They bought properties, threw lavish parties around the world , carried women, lived like kings .
It looked like the perfect scam—but the curtain was about to fall.
In 1998, things started to unravel. Banco Santander, a Spanish bank, wanted to acquire Banco Noroeste. During due diligence and audits conducted as part of that process, investors started noticing huge discrepancies: large sums of money were missing, and offshore accounts (including in places like the Cayman Islands) were found to be holding major deposits that couldn't be explained. The trail led back to Nwude.
He was eventually traced, arrested, and brought to trial. In 2004, he faced 86 counts of fraud and 15 counts of bribery and conspiracy. While in custody, he allegedly attempted to bribe the head of Nigeria's anti-corruption agency with US$75,000. He was also implicated in trying to kidnap a key witness.
In 2005, Nwude and one of his accomplices, Nzeribe Okoli, pleaded guilty after testimony by Nelson Sakaguchi (the victim from Banco Noroeste). Nwude was sentenced to 25 years in prison, having been given five consecutive 5-year sentences, to run concurrently, and a fine of US$10 million was imposed to the Nigerian government. His assets were confiscated to be returned to the victims.
He was released in 2006, having served only a part of his sentence. Shortly after release, Nwude launched lawsuits to recover some of the property that had been seized, arguing that some of those assets had been acquired before the fraud. He managed to reclaim some US$52 million in assets.
In 2021, Nwude appeared in court again along with two lawyers, Emmanuel Ilechukwu and Roland Kalu. They are standing trial on 15 counts of forgery and dealing in forfeited properties. The complaint involves a property at Plot Y, Mobolaji Johnson Street, Oregun, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. The charges allege that they forged documents to claim title over property that had been ordered forfeited to the victims of the 2005 judgment.
During that trial, a witness, Idi Musa, testified in 2018 that Nwude and his co-defendants forged a Power of Attorney dated January 12, 2011, in the name of "Mankris Ventures Limited" to transfer ownership of a forfeited property. That document purported to show Mankris Ventures as owner, despite a court order that it had been forfeited. The same trial also showed that signatures on forfeited property documents were jointly signed by Nwude and the others.
There have been ongoing debates and accusations around how much of the stolen funds and restored assets have been properly accounted for, and whether certain properties ordered forfeited were handled correctly. Some allegations include that EFCC officials may have benefited improperly in the transaction or the disposal of Nwude's properties.
In 2024, renewed attention in media outlets re-highlighted the scam as one of the biggest in Nigeria's history, with retrospectives on how he defrauded US$242 million, how Banco Noroeste collapsed in 2001, and how some of his properties included a 10-storey building in Lagos, multiple real estates, shares in Union Bank, etc. The story also underscored that his release in 2006 was controversial, especially given how little time he served compared to the magnitude of the crime.
As of late 2024 / early 2025, there is no confirmed public record that Nwude has been re-sentenced or jailed again on new convictions. The forgery case and dealings in forfeited property remain active in court.
There has also been no widely published update that all the assets he was ordered to return have been fully recovered or that full restitution has been completed. Some assets were reclaimed (e.g. the $52 million), but large parts remain contested or subject to legal suits.
Public and media interest remains strong. The case continues to be referenced in discussions about corruption, financial crime, and Nigeria's legal system—particularly about enforcement, forfeiture laws, transparency and how powerful people evade full punishment.
The forgery case involving properties forfeited to victims is critical. If Nwude (and co-defendants) are found guilty, it could lead to more orders to return property, fines, and possibly additional prison time.
The unresolved question of how much of the original US$242 million has been fully returned to Banco Noroeste (or its successors / claimants) remains. The legal and logistical challenges of tracing, freezing, forfeiting and selling assets partially in Nigeria and in foreign jurisdictions make full recovery difficult.
There's also increased scrutiny on how anti-corruption agencies (especially EFCC) are handling cases like this: whether properties sold were done so transparently, whether due process was followed, and whether officials involved acted with integrated
Mister Emmanuel nwude have made a history is Nigeria, making him the one of Nigeria remembered scammer of all time
What did you think about this man ? Did you think he will still come back to court again after this ?
Let me know your tough in the comment and let wait for chapter 6 dropping tonight, stay toon .