Here's What $43 Million in Illegal Cash Looks Like
You know the old "Nigerian Prince" scam? Nigerian authorities may have found the prince's money.
Acting on a whistleblower's tip, agents from the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said they raided an apartment in Ikoyi, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the Nigerian capital of Lagos, and uncovered "a humongous find of foreign currencies and [Nigerian] Naira notes" worth $43.4 million. Here's what the haul looked like:
According to the whistleblower, suspects were often seen moving out of a tiny apartment with bags made out to look like they contained clothing for a Ghana aid organization.
Preliminary findings indicate that the funds are suspected to be proceeds from unlawful activity, the commission said in a statement. Some $200 million in elicit cash has been recovered by the commission since a whistleblower policy was enacted to root out corruption.