The FBI has accused Nigerian tech boss Izunna Okonkwo, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, of involvement in a $41 million bank fraud and money laundering scheme. Okonkwo allegedly conspired with an investment banker to profit from insider trading over five years.
Mr Okonkwo, who took graduate studies at Stanford University, was buying stocks and securities based on the material non-public information shared by investment banker Gyunho Justin Kim with his American-Pakistani friend, Saad Shoukat.
Messrs Kim and Shoukat were good friends who met in 2018 while interning at different multinational establishments. The friendship devolved into criminal activity as Mr Kim shared crucial MNPI about upcoming acquisitions with Mr Shoukat, who then tipped Mr Okonkwo and other co-conspirators. The Nigerian and Pakistani were friends who met in college.
Mr Okonkwo, 30, knew Mr Kim was the source of the illicit gains and eventually suggested facilitating a new employment for him after years of raking in millions from the tip-offs.
Mr Kim worked at Citibank Investment Group’s division in San Francisco and was privy to confidential financial intelligence, as Citibank often acted as a middleman, providing financial advisory when negotiations for company acquisitions began.
“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.”