Nigerian influencer and social media mogul Ramon Abbas (aka “Hushpuppi”) has pleaded guilty to his role in money laundering and a swathe of fraudulent schemes, including €13 million cyber theft from Malta’s Bank of Valletta. 

Forbes and other international publications have reported that Abbas issued the plea in a Californian court. He could face a 20 year prison sentence and will likely need to pay full restitution to the victims. 

Abbas was first arrested in June 2020 with evidence provided to the courts revealed that he targetted a host of victims, including Qatari businessmen, BOV, and an unnamed Premier League club. He is believed to have stolen over €25 million.

Hushpuppi lived an elaborate and lavish lifestyle, which appears to have been the product of years of money laundering and cyber-attacks orchestrated from his safe haven in Dubai.

He was apprehended from his Dubai apartment in July 2020 in a joint effort with the FBI and Dubai Police. A few days later, Hushpuppi along with his accomplice Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka “Mr Woodberry” appeared in a Chicago courtroom 

Bank of Valletta was robbed of €13 million when it was hacked in February 2019, with reports alleging that the hacker group EmpireMonkey had broken into the Maltese bank’s system after posing as the French stock market regulator.

In May 2019, BOV said it had managed to recover €10 million of the stolen money and expected to recover most of the remainder.