Abbas pleaded guilty to money laundering last year, admitting attempting to steal more than $1.1m from someone who wanted to fund a new children’s school in Qatar. Court documents in California say he played a key role in the scheme, playing “the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website”.

The US federal department claimed he also acknowledged to “a number of other cyber and business email breach operations that collectively cost more than $24 million in losses.”

Among them was a plan from 2019 that caused turmoil on the European island of Malta when payment systems collapsed as he attempted to reroute $13 million ($13 million) that had been stolen from the Maltese Bank of Valletta by a group of North Korean hackers.

Abbas once claimed to be a real estate developer on Instagram and to have a category of videos called “Flexing” (social media slang for flaunting).

He used his true identity and contact information to extend his lease at the upscale Palazzo Versace apartments in Dubai for another year in 2020.

“Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed,” he captioned an Instagram picture of a Rolls-Royce just a fortnight before he was arrested.

Advertisement

A Lagos driver called Saye told the media back in 2021 that he developed a taste for the finer things in life – but was always “generous”.

“He used to buy beer for everyone around,” he said.

Abbas’ admirers assert that he has changed, though.

Two imams reportedly appealed for leniency in a letter to the judge in Los Angeles, noting that he frequently supported widows and orphans and donated to things like food programmes, according to the Nigerian newspaper.

Advertisement

His wife, however, claimed that his incarceration had put her in a difficult situation and that she had to work extra hours in order to pay for their child’s private education.

In a handwritten letter to Judge Otis D. Wright, Abbas expressed regret for his misdeeds and promised to compensate his victims with his own money. He further claimed that the crime for which he was being prosecuted had only netted him $300,000.

He was nonetheless given a 135-month term in a federal prison.

Also Read

Flood in north Nigeria kills five people

LAGOS: Flood triggered by a severe downpour on Thursday in northeast Nigeri's...

Advertisement

Advertisement