On Friday, 1 October 2010, the Johannesburg regional court magistrate convicted a Nigerian national, Peter Maxson Anyanyueze, on charges of fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Immigration Act after being arrested in July 2007.
He has been in custody since then and will be sentenced on 14 October 2010.
According to evidence during the trial, it was revealed that the accused had sent an email to one Dr Abdulazziz Alheiraqi Nwasser, a Saudi Arabian citizen, stating that he was in possession of an amount of 10.5 million United States dollars which he had realised from sales of gold dust and other precious metals.
He claimed that this amount was lodged in a security company in South Africa and that he needed someone to move it and invest it abroad for him and his family, preferably in Europe.
Instead of transferring the amount to the complainant, he demanded that small payments be made into nominated bank accounts worldwide. These payments were said to be for capital flight tax and currency fluctuating margins amongst others.
The complainant paid a total of 295 364 united states dollars to various bank accounts furnished to him by the accused, while the accused never deposited the 10.5 million intended for an overseas investment.
This scam is known worldwide as the "419" after the section 419 of the Nigerian fraud legislation or "advanced fee fraud", as the victim is deceived to make advance payments to bank accounts before any such transaction is conducted.
It was also revealed that the accused had fraudulently entered into a marriage of convenience with a female South African to obtain citizenship.
The state proved in court that the accused and the female person were never in a bona fide spousal or marital relationship, as the female was living with her South African boyfriend with whom she had a child at the time of the said marriage.
The arrest and conviction of the accused are a result of excellent work done by the South African Police Service and prosecutors in this two-year long trial.
Contact:
Mthunzi Mhaga
Cell: 072 198 6863
E-mail: mcmhaga@npa.gov.za
Source: National Prosecuting Authority
Nigerian national convicted in 419 fraud scam case
