Two prosecution witnesses on Wednesday narrated to the Federal High Court in Abuja how the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afriq Arbitrage System Limited, Jesam Michael Ubi, allegedly defrauded them in a multi-million-dollar crypto investment scam.
The witnesses, Samson Egbu and Isaac Kwaghbee, testified before Justice Obiora Egwuatu in the ongoing $87 million alleged cryptocurrency fraud case against Mr Ubi.
Mr Egbu, who is based in Nasarawa State and testified as PW25, told the court that he was lured into investing 8,190 USDT – equivalent to $8,190 – in the crashed crypto investment platform.
USDT is a stablecoin or a crypto token built to track one US dollar. It is currently at par with the United States Dollar.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Egbu said he was convinced by the assurance and authenticity created around the platform by the defendant.
“He (Jesam) repeatedly told us that your money cannot be touched. He told us that the money would be secured in Binance platform and nobody except the investor can touch the money,” Mr Egbu said.
The second witness, Mr Kwaghbee, an Abuja-based businessman who testified as PW26, said he invested a total of 7,000 USDT using two separate accounts.
“The money I invested into the platform was proceeds of the land my late father died and left behind for our family. I sold it to make more money for myself and my siblings when the investment promised high yields,” he told the court.
The two witnesses said they lost both their investment capital and the promised return on investment.
According to online videos and posters tendered in court, Mr Ubi allegedly promised unsuspecting victims a 1.6 per cent return on investment within 24 hours.
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He was also said to have produced videos and photographs of the company’s head office, which he claimed was in the United States, and engaged some local and foreign celebrities to promote the investment to give it an air of authenticity.
The platform has since been shut down, with the defendant reportedly blaming one Oluwasesan Abayomi for its failure.
When the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tendered statements, investment documents and other materials produced by the witnesses, defence counsel, Uchenna Njoku, SAN, objected to the documents but reserved his reasons.
Under cross-examination, Mr Njoku argued that the second witness invested his second account on a different website from the AAS platform.
He also asked the witnesses to tell the court that their initial investments generated the expected return on investment until it was manipulated by someone other than the accused.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter till 2 December for continuation of the trial.
