The news
- The Nigerian Police has arrested Wilfred Bonse in connection to the Patricia hack.
- According to information from Patricia, the ₦607 million is part of the total amount the crypto exchange lost to the hack announced in May.
- The company’s CEO said the hackers used politicians to launder stolen funds from Patricia.
Wilfred Bonse was a Governorship aspirant in the 2023 gubernatorial elections in Cross River State. He, however, withdrew from the race and asked his political party, PDP to refund the ₦21 million he used in purchasing the gubernatorial form.
Bonse was arrested in connection with Patricia’s security breach announced in May this year. According to the police PRO, Muyiwa Adejobi, the arrest was made by the Nigeria Police Cybercrime Centre.
He said “The Centre has made progress in the investigation of the complex financial fraud reported by Patricia Technologies Limited. The case involves criminal conspiracy, unauthorised modification of computer systems, network, data, and the unlawful diversion of funds.”
The PRO also noted that Bonse registered his involvement in laundering ₦50 million “originating from the fraudulent diversion of ₦607 million from Patricia’s account to his bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.”
