EMMANUEL NWUDE: THE MAN WHO SOLD A NON-EXISTING NIGERIAN AIRPORT TO A BRAZILIAN BANK

He was Born in 1955, and he is a native of abagana in Anambra state.

Nwude is a former Nigerian Banker and businessman notorious for orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history. Between 1995 and 1998, he successfully "sold" a non-existent INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT to a Brazilian Bank for $242 million.

Posing as Paul Ogwuma, the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nwude convinced Nelson Sakaguchi, a director at Brazil's Banco Noroeste, to inv£st in a fictitious AIRPORT PROJECT in Abuja Nigeria.

Nwude used forged documents and accomplices to stimulate a high-level government deal, promising Sakaguchi a $10 million commission.

The fraud was discovered in 1997 during a due diligence audit when the Spanish Bank Santander attempted to acquire Banco Noroeste. The loss was so significant that it led to the total collapse of the Brazilian bank.

Nwude was arrested in February 2004 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In 2005, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years prison term, with an order to pay $120 million in restitution.

He was released in 2006 after serving only a small fraction of his sentence.

Authorities seized and sold various assets, including luxury properties and shares in Union Bank of Nigeria, yielding approximately $84 milliøn toward restitution.

Since his release, he has been involved in further legal disputes, includng attempts to reclaim some of his seized assets.

Before and during the scam, Nwude served as a director at Union Bank of Nigeria, which provided him with the credibility and insider knowledge to execute the fraud.

At the time it was uncovered, the case was considered the third-largest banking fraud in history.