Nigerian ‘sakawa kingpin’ Sunny Awamini wanted by Interpol – EOCO uncovers

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has detained a notorious leader of a fraudulent enterprise operating in Ghana and neighbouring Nigeria who is also on the wanted list of Interpol for various organized crimes.

On Thursday, July 21, 2022, Sunny Anwamini (Alias Sunny Enyindah Anwamini @ Apostle Sunny Chigeru), a Nigerian national, was arrested and charged with three counts of Uttering forged documents, defrauding by false pretences and money laundering.

The accused, between January 2017 and May 2022, used forged documents including an Export Declaration Form from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to obtain various sums of money totalling Six Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($6,500,000) from one Mazen Farakh, the complainant, under the pretext of exporting teak wood from Ghana to him in Ukraine.

The accused was arraigned before Her Ladyship Elfreda Dankyi at Criminal Court 2 of the High Court, Accra. After the accused person’s plea was taken, EOCO’s legal team prosecuting on behalf of the Republic, prayed the court to take into consideration the amount involved in the offence allegedly committed in granting bail.

The Court in its ruling set the terms of bail at Twenty Million Ghana Cedis (GHc 20,000,000) with three (3) sureties, two (2) of whom must be justified.

The accused is to surrender his passport and other travelling documents and to report twice a week to the EOCO headquarters.

However, Sunny Awamini is yet to settle the bail conditions and has been detained.

Background

According to deep throat sources at EOCO, the suspect met Mazen Farakh in December 2018 during which the latter expressed interest in purchasing expensive wood (teak).

Sam after receiving the sum of $6.5 million from the Ukrainian businessman sent photographs of fake pallets of teak stored in custom bonded warehouses and promised to get the goods delivered to Ukraine.

Additionally Information

Sunny Awamini alias Sam is apparently a wanted man by Interpol and Nigeria’s security apparatus has been on the hunt for him for several years.

EOCO after doing diligent work sought collaboration from their Nigerian counterparts and were informed that Sam has been a wanted man and operates a criminal gang of fraudulent enterprise in Nigeria for a very long time.