How Nigerian socialite allegedly posed as Dubai Crown Prince to defraud Romanian businesswoman of $2.5m
A Nigerian socialite, identified as Nzube Henry Ikeji, has allegedly impersonated the Crown Prince of Dubai to swindle a Romanian businesswoman out of $2.5 million through a romance and humanitarian investment scam.
The allegation is detailed in an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
According to an OCCRP documentary, the fraud began about three years ago when the Romanian businesswoman, identified as Laura, was contacted on LinkedIn by an account claiming to belong to the Dubai Crown Prince.
The investigation said the impersonator expressed interest in investing in a humanitarian project in Romania through Laura.
The report noted that their conversations continued across social media platforms and gradually evolved into what appeared to be a romantic relationship.
After some time, the impostor asked Laura to meet his supposed financial manager in London to help set up an account with a British bank.
During one of the meetings, Laura asked a business partner to photograph the man introduced as the financial manager.
She was later provided with login details to a bank account showing a deposit of more than £200,000, but she later discovered the account was cloned and the funds were fictitious.
When Laura attempted to withdraw part of the money, she reportedly received an email demanding a substantial fee before access could be granted.
The purported financial manager was identified as Martins Abhulimhen.
The Romanian businesswoman eventually transferred more than $2.5 million to the account before becoming alarmed and attempting to recover her funds.
The investigation revealed that Ikeji’s alleged accomplices later disagreed over how to share the proceeds, prompting two of them to contact Laura and expose details of the scheme.
When Laura confronted the impostor posing as the Dubai Crown Prince with the claims, he reportedly told her that his partners were trying to create conflict between them.
Laura later realised she had been defrauded and demanded a refund, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
One of the disgruntled accomplices later disclosed the real identity of the fake Dubai Crown Prince as “Nzube Henry Ikeji” and sent Laura a video allegedly showing him at his newly acquired mansion.
THE TRACKING
Following the revelations, the OCCRP team travelled to Abuja to meet journalist Chikezie Omeje to help track the suspect.
Using Ikeji’s Instagram account and that of his wife, investigators uncovered clues to his whereabouts.
They found that Ikeji frequently flaunted his wealth on social media, with videos showing trips to London with his wife and son, luxury purchases at Louis Vuitton, expensive wristwatches, and a car.
Another video showed him spraying bundles of naira during a performance by Davido in Asaba, Delta state.
Initially, investigators were unable to locate his residence.
However, an Instagram post by his wife announcing their new mansion in Abuja provided a breakthrough.
Ikeji later posted a photo of himself with one of Nigeria’s leading real estate developers, prompting Omeje to visit several estates in Abuja and compare them with images shared online.
Omeje eventually identified the mansion of the man posing as the Dubai Crown Prince.
When approached at the Abuja residence and asked whether he knew Laura from Romania, the suspect denied any knowledge of her.
Asked if he had claimed to be the Dubai Crown Prince, he questioned the journalist’s source.
He also declined to respond to questions about “Dr Martins Abhulimhen” or whether funds had been sent to him from the UK, saying such matters should be directed to his lawyer.
The investigation further revealed that Laura reported the case to UK police, submitting the photograph taken during the London meeting with the financial manager.
The financial manager was later identified as Martins Abhulimhen, who UK authorities reportedly said was under investigation for suspicious funds — allegedly linked to Laura’s money.
Funds were said to have been transferred from Abhulimhen’s UK account to Ikeji’s account in Nigeria.