Alleged romance fraudsters granted bail after 10 days in custody

Men accused of running romance scam released on bail after court hears how victim was refunded in full  

A group of men accused of running a romance scam have been released on bail today after a court heard how the men had refunded the victim in full.

Oliver Chamberline Chibuike, a 38-year old Nigerian national living at St Paul’s Bay, fellow national 29-year-old Collins Eguavoen and Ayub Ali Khan Mohammed, a 22-year-old Indian national living in Swieqi, were charged ten days ago with various acts of money-laundering allegedly committed between January and March.

Investigators targeted the three suspects following a report by an elderly woman who claimed to have been defrauded of some €15,000 after being duped into entering into an online relationship.

Collins, who was also charged with allegedly breaching previous bail conditions, had already been arraigned in February, as one of a group of six suspects, charged with swindling another elderly victim out of some €58,000.

On that occasion, the victim was lured into a virtual relationship with a man, posing as a US soldier stationed in Afghanistan.

The court granted the accused bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000, each, after being told that two of the accused had refunded the victim in full.

Inspector Sarah Zerafa prosecuted.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi assisted Chibuike, lawyer Frank Cassar assisted Eguavoen while lawyer Roberto Montalto represented Ali Khan Mohammed.