According to a Nigerian Police Force spokesman, politician Wilfred Bonse has been taken into custody for pilfering, converting cryptocurrency wallets, and illegally diverting funds away from Patricia Technologies.
Wilfred Bonse, a politician, has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for allegedly stealing over 200 million naira ($246,153) from Patricia Technologies’ cryptocurrency wallet.
The disclosure was provided in a statement released on Friday by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force’s public relations officer. It is purported that Bonse helped hackers launder 50 million naira ($61,538) of the money they had stolen.
He claimed that the Patricia Technologies case has advanced significantly thanks to the NPF’s National Cybercrime Centre. According to a petition filed with the inspector general of police, the case involves criminal conspiracy, the unlawful modification of computer systems and network data, and the unlawful diversion of funds totaling more than 200 million naira ($246,153).
In the statement, an NPF spokesperson said that Bonse had been taken into custody on charges of larceny, wallet conversion involving cryptocurrency, and unapproved fund diversion from Patricia Technologies. The statement described the alleged involvement of multiple people, some of whom are still on the loose.
Through the fraudulent diversion of 607 million naira ($747,076) from Patricia Technology’s account to his bank account via a cryptocurrency wallet, Bonse is accused of plotting to launder 50 million naira. The inquiry is still underway.
The crypto trading company may find some relief from the arrest related to the Patricial Technologies heist. Following a significant loss of customer funds due to hacking in May, Patricia Technologies came under intense scrutiny.
In response to requests from clients, Patricia converted the value of those clients’ assets into Patricia Tokens (PTK), guaranteeing future repayment. Patricia introduced PTK as an internal customer holding company and underlined its commitment to honesty and customer trust.
Patricia claims that in order to guarantee asset recovery following the security breach, it is dedicated to returning holders with one Tether token for each Patricia token. Patricia clarified that PTK is an internal token that represents debt and is managed by the company; it is not on-chain.
Patricia disclosed in October that it had hired DLM Trust as an escrow agent to handle customer repayments in an effort to calm its anxious clients. Nevertheless, DLM left because of conflicts with the business. Patricia plans to follow through on the repayment plan this month.