Nigerian man nabbed in India over alleged N9.5m fake marriage scam

Indian police have arrested a 47-year-old Nigerian, Oliver  Okechukwu, for allegedly defrauding a woman from Ilkal town in Karnataka State of Rs 5.5 lakh (about N9.5 million) through a bogus marriage proposal.

According to Bagalkot Superintendent of Police, Siddarth Goel, the suspect was tracked down in Mumbai by officers of the Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) unit after an extensive investigation.

Reports from Times of India indicate that Okechukwu, who resided in Shivaji Nagar Bonkode Ganv, Khairane Thane, allegedly targeted women on matrimonial websites by creating fake profiles. He was said to focus on divorcees seeking to remarry.

In this case, he posed as “Satya Amit,” a London-based professional, and reached out to the victim through her online profile. Gaining her confidence, he promised to marry her.

Police said about 18 months ago, Okechukwu contacted the woman, claiming he had arrived in India but ran into trouble with customs officials who supposedly seized foreign currency worth Rs 1 crore he had brought.

Pretending to be stranded, he asked the woman to urgently transfer Rs 5.5 lakh to help him resolve the matter. Believing his story, she wired the money to the bank account he provided.

Once the funds cleared, Okechukwu allegedly cut all communication and disappeared. Realising she had been deceived, the woman filed a complaint with cybercrime authorities in Bagalkot.

Speaking on the case, SP Goel confirmed that the Nigerian had opened several bank accounts using fake names to run his scams. “Further investigations are ongoing to determine whether he has cheated other victims across India,” the police chief added.