The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the arrest of a popular Instagram celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha popularly known as ‘Mo
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the arrest of a popular Instagram celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha popularly known as ‘Mompha.’
EFCC’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said that Mustapha was arrested by the anti-graft agency in the Federal Captial Territory (FCT), for an alleged involvement in internet-related fraud and money laundering.
EFCC in tweeted that, “The suspect, a premium and first-class customer of one of the popular international airlines, was arrested on Friday 18, October 2019 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to Dubai Emirate following [a] series of intelligence reports received by the Commission.”
Continuing, EFFC tweeted, “According to the EFCC operatives, actionable cross-border intelligence received from collaborative law enforcement agencies about his alleged involvement in the criminal activities further strengthened our suspicion. Ismaila, who allegedly perpetrates his fraudulent activities under the guise of being a bureau de change operator, is always seen with his little son flaunting huge amount of foreign currencies on his social medial platforms. Investigations have also revealed that Ismaila is only using the BDC business he jointly owned with his siblings as a decoy to launder his proceeds of crime.”
The Commission further alleged that Ismaila, aka, Mompha, “has volunteered useful information to the operatives and has admitted to be reasonably involved in the first two cases he was alleged to be involved [in].
“At the point of arrest, five wristwatches with a total worth of over twenty million naira (N20,000,000.00) was recovered from him. The suspects will soon be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded,” anti-graft agency said.
Mompha, who is fondly referred to as the ‘king’ of Nigerian Bureau De Change, is renowned for his luxurious lifestyle which is well portrayed in his flagrant display of expensive cars, wristwatches, and bewildering landscapes and properties on Instagram with many state of the art cars worth over $1.76 million (N634,000,000).
Although there are claims that he fled his base in Dubai to evade arrest from the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), many Nigerians are convinced that the source of the Instagram celebrity’s wealth is questionable. According to celebrity fact zone, Mompha is the first African to buy the $450,000 Rolls Royce Wraight Eagle Viii. He owns a $330,000 2018 Rolls Royce Wraith, a $300,000 Ferrari 488 Spider, a $417,826 2019 Lamborghini Aventador, $265,500 Mclaren 650s and more.
