The police have nabbed Chinedu Ernest Ngwaka for alleged connivance with his wife, Janet Onyekachi Ngwaka, in a N320 million fraud scheme.

The police alleged that the couple defrauded Tochukwu Unachukwu, the managing director of Casco Electronics Company Limited, of N320 million.

In a statement on Wednesday, Force CID spokeswoman Aminat Mayegun said the police received a criminal complaint indicting the couple.

“Between March and May 2024, Mr Unachukwu made payments totalling N320,000,000.00 to Ngwaka and his wife through their company accounts, Edunaco Multiple Resources Limited and Bright Janes World for the procurement of $200,000 to facilitate the supply of goods from China,” said the police.

The statement said police uncovered “fraudulent documents, including a telex confirmation from Zenith Bank, which purportedly shows the completion of the transactions in two $100,000 tranches.”

“The Chinese suppliers confirmed that no such funds were received,” added the police.

A black 2024 Toyota Hilux with a Presidency number plate (02B679FG) was also recovered from the “self-acclaimed licensed bureau de change operator,” who claimed to operate under Phobia BDC Ltd.

However, the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed that he was not linked to the company, whose licence had already been revoked earlier in the year.

“A fake identity card, purportedly issued by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, was discovered, fraudulently identifying Ngwaka as a consultant of the Ministry, while another letter of introduction addressed ‘to whom it may concern’, purportedly issued by the head of service of the federation, seeking allocation of presidency number plate to the suspect was also recovered from him,” said the police statement. “Relevant Authorities have confirmed the illegitimacy of the documents.”