Man Triggers Bank Collapse After Selling Imaginary $242 Million Airport

An entire bank failed as a result of Emmanuel Nwude’s complex plan.

After selling his employer a fictitious airport for an incredible $242 million, a guy set off the collapse of an entire bank.

Emmanuel Nwude worked for the Union Bank of Nigeria as a director. He had a thorough awareness of the financial sector, which he expertly used to his advantage given his position.

Emmanuel once called Nelson Sakaguchi, a director of the Brazilian bank Banco Noroeste, strategically.

But Emmanuel didn’t merely identify himself; he asserted that he was Paul Ogwuma, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria at the time, a much more powerful figure.

After that, he made a story pitch, stating that he was building a new airport and that he required funding to finish the project.

From a business perspective, Sakaguchi probably saw a big chance since he could earn $10 million in commission if he could get Emmanuel the money he needed.

In 2004, Emmanuel Nwude arrived to the High Court of Justice.

The banker accepted the offer without doing any thorough background checks.

A total of $242 million was given to Emmanuel between 1995 and 1998 to build the fictitious airport, which no one cared to confirm existed.

Discrepancies didn’t start to show up and raise suspicions until 1997, when Banco Noroeste was being bought by the financial behemoth Santander.

Half of Banco Noroeste’s money was already safe in Cayman Islands accounts.

Furthermore, they had been helping a man build an airport that didn’t exist.

The bank was in a dire financial situation at this point, and it finally shut down in 2001.

Criminal charges were filed.

 

Authorities began looking into Emmanuel’s methods for defrauding the bank of $242 million as it became evident that he had planned a huge scam.

The sale to Santander did proceed, but Banco Noroeste suffered a huge loss from which they would never fully recover.

Emmanuel and his colleagues ended up in court three years after the bank failed.

They were re-arrested in order to face charges in a different court after the case was dismissed in 2004.

In the end, the group acknowledged guilt on more than 100 charges, including bribery and fraud.

After one of his collaborators confessed, which only made matters worse, Emmanuel made a last-ditch attempt to evade punishment by offering a $75,000 bribe as the case went on.

For his part in the bank fraud, Emmanuel received a 25-year prison sentence, but in 2006, he was allowed to leave early.