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BREAKING NEWS: Over $41million Alleged Fraud, FBI Names Nigerian Businessman Person of Interest – FULL DETAILS
The FBI has identified Izunna Okonkwo, the Pastel tech start-up co-founder who made the Forbes 30-under-30 list in 2023, as a person of interest and co-conspirator in an insider trading and money laundering scheme that generated $41 million in illegal profit over five years.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
Mr Okonkwo, who took graduate studies at Stanford University, allegedly bought stocks and securities based on material non-public information shared by investment banker Gyunho Justin Kim through his American-Pakistani friend, Saad Shoukat.
Messrs Kim and Shoukat met in 2018 while interning at different multinational establishments, and their friendship devolved into criminal activity as Mr Kim shared confidential information about upcoming acquisitions.
Mr Shoukat allegedly passed the information to Mr Okonkwo and other associates, with the Nigerian and Pakistani said to have been friends from their university days.
Mr Okonkwo, 30, allegedly knew Mr Kim was the source of the illicit gains and at one point suggested helping him secure new employment after years of benefiting from the tip-offs.
Mr Kim worked at Citibank’s investment group in San Francisco and had access to confidential financial intelligence as the bank frequently advised companies involved in acquisition deals.
“Okonkwo knew that Kim worked at the investment bank, and Saad Shoukat and Okonkwo communicated on an encrypted messaging app about the impending Reata deal before it was public,” FBI special agent Antony Belitti wrote in a complaint to the U.S. District Court for New Jersey on November 24.
“Saad Shoukat exchanged messages with Okonkwo about helping Kim find a new job,” the filing added.
Mr Shoukat was said to have brokered an arrangement allowing him to trade through Mr Okonkwo’s brokerage accounts in exchange for giving the Nigerian entrepreneur 50 per cent of illegal proceeds.
The FBI said the pair drafted a written agreement confirming access to the accounts and the profit-sharing formula.
When Gilead moved to acquire Immunomedics in 2020, Mr Kim allegedly informed Mr Shoukat, who then tipped Mr Okonkwo and others to buy shares ahead of the announcement.
Mr Kim learnt of the deal on June 23, 2020, and by July 2, Mr Okonkwo and other co-conspirators had begun accumulating Immunomedics shares.
The FBI traced logins to Mr Okonkwo’s brokerage account to a London residence linked to him, which also hosted Mr Shoukat while he conducted some of the trades.
“Around the same time, there were logins to Saad Shoukat’s account from the same IP address in the United Kingdom from which there were logins to Okonkwo’s account,” an FBI agent told the court.
Gilead announced its $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics in September 2020, and Messrs Shoukat, Kim, and others made $4.9 million from the deal.
The FBI intercepted messages showing exchanges between Mr Okonkwo and a friend about buying Immunomedics stock in August 2020.
Mr Okonkwo allegedly made $2.3 million from the buyout, while a relative received $465,299.
When Amgen moved to acquire Five Prime in early 2022, Mr Okonkwo reportedly opened a brokerage account the next day and bought shares at $15, eventually earning $166,000 as the stock surged following the announcement.
He allegedly made another $370,000 from GSK’s buyout of Sierra, while a relative earned $41,000.
Pfizer’s $5.4 billion acquisition of GBT in August 2022 reportedly yielded Mr Okonkwo $3.5 million, with his Atlanta-based relative making $617,727 and Mr Shoukat earning $5 million.
Days after receiving $3.5 million from the GBT deal, Pastel announced a $5.5 million seed funding round.
Mr Okonkwo co-founded Pastel in 2021 with Stanford colleagues Olamide Oladeji and Abuzar Royesh, and was celebrated by Forbes in 2023 as one of Africa’s rising executives under 30.
He allegedly received $4.7 million after Biogen finalised its takeover of Reata in July 2023 and another $2.9 million from AbbVie’s acquisition of Immonogen in November 2023.
Federal prosecutors told U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer that the profits earned by Messrs Shoukat, Okonkwo, and other named individuals totalled at least $41 million.
Mr Kim is facing six counts of insider trading, wire fraud, and money laundering for allegedly leaking confidential Citibank information to associates.
It was unclear whether Mr Okonkwo had been taken into custody, although filings identified him as a dual Nigerian-American citizen with business operations in Nigeria and Atlanta.
Online records show he has been running Pastel from Yaba, Lagos, and had used an office in Atlanta while establishing the company in 2022.
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Oyo police intercepts truck conveuing explosives in Saki
The Oyo State Police Command has announced an operational success recorded following an intelligence-led operation.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Command intercepted a truck conveying materials suspected to be explosive devices during a stop-and-search operation in Saki, Oyo State. The truck and the suspected materials were promptly secured and are currently in police custody.
Upon receiving a briefing on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Femi Haruna, immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Consequently, specialised personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Unit were deployed to safely secure the items for safekeeping and forensic examination. Detailed forensic analysis has since commenced, alongside a thorough and robust investigation to determine the exact nature of the items and their intended use.
The truck driver has been taken into custody and is cooperating fully with investigators as efforts continue to unravel all the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Commissioner of Police commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, for his unwavering support, strategic leadership, and continued provision of operational guidance that enhance proactive, intelligence-driven policing across the country.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
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Benue: Armed bandits kill motorcyclist, injure woman in Apa LGA
One person has died and another sustained injuries following an assault by suspected armed bandits in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
According to sources, the attack took place on January 24 around 4:00 p.m. along the Amoke–Odugbo road in Ukpogo Village, Edikwu Ward.
The victims, identified as Mr Joseph Okoh and Miss Aneh Sunday, both from Ogodumo, Adoka in Otukpo LGA, were reportedly riding a motorcycle when the assailants struck.
“They were rushed to the Comprehensive Health Centre, Ugbokpo, where Mr Okoh was confirmed dead while receiving treatment. Miss Sunday is currently admitted and responding to treatment,” the source stated.
Nigerian troops were quickly deployed to the area, and a search operation in the surrounding bushes is ongoing to apprehend the attackers.
“The Criminal Investigation Department has commenced an investigation into the incident,” the source added.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
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2026 UTME: JAMB scraps special privileges for albino candidates over malpractices
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has scrapped special concessions and registration procedures previously granted to candidates with albinism for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, citing abuse of the privilege to perpetrate examination malpractice.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
The Board also warned faith-based tertiary institutions to clearly declare their religious status at the point of admission, saying it is deceptive to present as secular and later impose religious rules on students.
As reported by Vanguard, these decisions were taken on Saturday at a meeting between JAMB management, led by its Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, and Commissioners for Education from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, held in Ikeja, Lagos.
Oloyede said the meeting was convened to review and assess previous admission exercises.
He noted that despite safeguards introduced by the Board, some individuals remained determined to circumvent the system.
“We have stopped some concessions we gave albino candidates. This is because some are using artificial intelligence to manipulate the registration process to look like they are albinos because of the consideration we gave them.
“Last year alone, over 7,000 claimed to be albinos. We have stopped special registration procedures for albinos,” he said.
Addressing complaints from candidates admitted into some private institutions over compulsory religious instruction, Oloyede urged faith-based schools to be transparent.
“Faith-based institutions should declare from the onset what they are, so that whoever applies there will know what he is going to meet there. But some don’t do that. They will pretend to be secular, but once students are admitted, trouble will begin over religious instruction and injunctions.
“If you are a faith-based institution, say so. The law allows you to set up faith-based schools,” he said.
On last year’s UTME, where the highest-scoring candidate was later found to be a 300-level university student, the JAMB registrar said investigations showed that some undergraduates sit for the examination to change courses or assist others to secure admission.
“Students who are already in school but want to change courses and are applying again must declare and disclose their status.
“We have found that some candidates already in school are writing the examination for other candidates. Last year, the candidate who scored the highest was found to be a 300-level student in the university.
“Henceforth, any candidate found engaging in such an act, and who fails to disclose that he is already in school but wants to change course, will be disqualified and will also lose his current admission,” he said.
On admission criteria, Oloyede explained that federal government-owned institutions allocate 45 per cent on merit, 20 per cent on catchment area, 20 per cent to educationally disadvantaged states, while the remaining slots are allocated to other considerations.
“Each owner or state has the right to decide what its admission criteria will be. But for states, we encourage them to allocate at least 10 per cent to merit, regardless of where the candidates come from.
“This is to diversify the student population and admit eggheads from different communities,” he said.
He criticised some states for establishing new universities despite not fully utilising their admission quotas in existing federal institutions.
On underage candidates, Oloyede said 16 years remained the minimum admission age, noting that an attestation process was in place for exceptional cases.
“Last year, about 42,000 claimed to be underage. After evaluation, only 78 met the criteria and were admitted. We are not saying there are no talented candidates, but the figure looks outlandish,” he said.
The issue of how to engage underage candidates during a gap year divided opinions at the meeting, but a majority voted for JAMB to continue its special assessment process.
The meeting also observed that parental pressure on children to complete their education too quickly was a major contributor to the problem.
On efforts to curb examination malpractice, Oloyede said JAMB had stopped the movement of computers between Computer-Based Test centres.
“A computer registered in a particular centre will remain there and is not transferable to another centre. Some people borrow computers to get accredited and later move them around,” he said.
He dismissed claims that candidates were posted to towns they did not choose, saying personal data used for registration were drawn directly from the National Identification Number submitted by candidates.
Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede said 974,855 candidates had so far been admitted out of about 1.95 million who sat for the examination.
He added that over N2.4 billion had been disbursed to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB’s rules over the past 10 years, and that the meeting agreed that schools producing the best candidates should be compensated.
On accreditation of CBT centres, Oloyede said the process involved teams comprising university vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts in each state.
He warned state governments against agreements with private promoters who might use centres to facilitate malpractice.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
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