Trending 
A Nigerian socialite, Nzube Henry Ikeji, is alleged to have impersonated the Crown Prince of Dubai and defrauded a Romanian businesswoman of $2.5 million through a romance and humanitarian investment scam.
The allegation is contained in an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
According to an OCCRP documentary, the scheme began about three years ago when a Romanian businesswoman, identified as Laura, received a LinkedIn message from an account claiming to belong to the Dubai Crown Prince.
The investigation stated that the impersonator expressed interest in funding a humanitarian project in Romania through Laura. Their discussions reportedly spread across several social media platforms and gradually developed into what appeared to be a romantic relationship.
After some time, the impostor asked Laura to meet his purported financial manager in London to open an account with a British financial institution.
During a meeting, Laura asked a business partner to photograph the man introduced as the financial manager.
She later received login details for a bank account showing a balance of more than £200,000. She subsequently discovered that the account had been cloned and that the funds did not exist.
When Laura attempted to withdraw funds, she reportedly received an email demanding a large fee before access would be granted. The man presented as the financial manager was identified as Martins Abhulimhen.
Laura eventually transferred more than $2.5 million into the account before growing suspicious and attempting to retrieve her money. The investigation revealed that disagreements later arose among Ikeji’s alleged accomplices over how to share the proceeds.
As a result, two of them reportedly contacted Laura and revealed details of the fraud. When Laura confronted the man posing as the Dubai Crown Prince, he allegedly told her that his partners were trying to cause conflict between them.
Laura later realised she had been defrauded and demanded a refund, but her efforts failed. One disgruntled accomplice later disclosed that the fake Dubai Crown Prince was actually Nzube Henry Ikeji and sent Laura a video allegedly showing him at his newly acquired mansion.
The tracking
Following these disclosures, the OCCRP team travelled to Abuja and worked with journalist Chikezie Omeje to trace the suspect. By analysing posts on Ikeji’s Instagram account and that of his wife, investigators gathered clues about his location.
They found that Ikeji regularly displayed his wealth online, sharing videos of trips to London with his wife and son, luxury shopping at Louis Vuitton, and images of expensive watches and a car.
Another video showed him spraying bundles of naira during a performance by Davido in Asaba, Delta State.
At first, investigators had trouble locating his home. But a vital lead came from his wife’s Instagram post announcing their new Abuja mansion.
Ikeji later shared a photograph of himself with a prominent Nigerian real estate developer, prompting Omeje to visit several estates in Abuja and compare them with images posted online. He eventually identified the mansion linked to the man alleged to have posed as the Dubai Crown Prince.
When approached at the property and asked whether he knew Laura from Romania, Ikeji denied knowing her. Asked if he had claimed to be the Dubai Crown Prince, he questioned the journalist’s source.
He also refused to answer questions about “Dr Martins Abhulimhen” or whether funds had been sent to him from the UK, stating that such matters should be addressed by his lawyer.
The investigation further revealed that Laura reported the case to UK police and submitted the photograph taken during the London meeting.
Authorities later identified the financial manager as Martins Abhulimhen, whom UK investigators reportedly linked to suspicious funds believed to include Laura’s money.
The report said funds were transferred from Abhulimhen’s UK account to Ikeji’s account in Nigeria.
