A 37-year-old Nigerian, Abiola Kayode, has been extradited from Ghana to Nebraska, United States, to face charges related to wire fraud. Kayode had been listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Criminal List following his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska announced on Thursday that Kayode was apprehended by Ghanaian authorities in April 2023 after a formal extradition request from the United States. FBI agents escorted him to Nebraska, where he appeared in court on December 11, 2024, before Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson. Kayode is being held in detention pending trial.
Kayode is accused of participating in a BEC scheme between January 2015 and September 2016, during which businesses in Nebraska and other states were defrauded of more than $6 million. The scheme involved impersonating business executives in emails to deceive employees into authorizing fraudulent wire transfers.
Prosecutors allege that Kayode provided bank account details used to receive the stolen funds. Many of these accounts reportedly belonged to victims of internet romance scams who were manipulated into further laundering the money.
Several of Kayode’s co-conspirators have already faced justice:
- Adewale Aniyeloye: Sentenced to 96 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution (February 2019).
- Pelumi Fawehinimi: Received a 72-month sentence and ordered to pay $1.01 million (March 2019).
- Onome Ijomone: Extradited from Poland and sentenced to 60 months with $508,934 restitution (January 2020).
- Alex Ogunshakin: Extradited from Nigeria and sentenced to 45 months (October 2024).
Speaking on the case, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge, Eugene Kowel emphasized the agency’s commitment to dismantling cybercriminal networks.
“Four years ago, we identified six Nigerian nationals suspected of defrauding victims and businesses in Nebraska and other states of millions of dollars. Today, Abiola Kayode is the second of those co-conspirators to be extradited to stand trial in Nebraska. To the remaining four co-conspirators: we are coming for you.”
Kowel credited the collaboration between the FBI, Ghanaian authorities—including the Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Justice, Ghana Police Service–INTERPOL, and the Ghana Immigration Service—for the successful extradition.
The FBI continues to prioritize combating cybercrime and holding perpetrators accountable.
