Nigeria, US Fight For Hushpuppi’s Custody From UAE

Premium Times reports that Nigeria and the US launched the battle for the possession of Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, following his arrest and detention by Emirati authorities earlier this week, according to two officials familiar with the development.

“Immediately we got confirmation that he had been arrested in Dubai, we all started fighting to get him,” a senior Nigerian detective told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday. “He is a subject of multiple and conflicting interests between Nigeria and the United States.”

Officials said the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI has been leading America’s effort to take possession of Mr Abbas because many of those he allegedly scammed in years of advance fee fraud were Americans.

Officials could not immediately estimate the financial value of Mr Abbas’ alleged fraud, citing poor cooperation from Dubai authorities, but they expressed confidence his exploits spanned across Europe, U.S. and Nigeria.

Nigerian officials said UAE authorities have frustrated all their attempts to obtain more than a cursory account of Mr Abbas’ arrest, including when and where he was held.

“They are even reluctant to tell us the preliminary charges that they have against him so we could weigh them with the charges that we have against him in Nigeria,” one of the officials said. “We know that the money involved would be much for the Americans, but we are optimistic that we will prevail in bringing him to Nigeria to face trial.”

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