Patricia Hack: House of Reps member masterminded breach – Hanu Fejiro

CEO of embattled crypto exchange, Patricia, Hanu Fejiro has said a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives elected on the platform of the Labour Party was the mastermind behind the infamous hack of the crypto exchange in February 2022.

The CEO revealed this in a conversation with Technext. While stating that he wasn’t at liberty to name the House of Representatives member nor their constituency, he however said that there is strong evidence pointing to the politician as the ‘gang leader’ of the nefarious group which perpetrated the act. He also said the Honourable member who initially feigned ignorance, had accepted responsibility and promised to refund the company.

Recall that last week, Techpoint Africa reported that the Nigerian Police Force had identified seven individuals in connection to the Patricia hack. Techpoint said six of seven suspects had been brought in for questioning while one suspect who is believed to have masterminded the entire operation is still at large.

In the conversation with Technext, Hanu Fejiro corroborated this information and said the HOR member, who is the gang leader, has made a repayment of five million naira.

“However, we have so much more to go.” He added.

Timeline of Patricia breach 

Patricia, as well as its customers, endured a difficult time for most of 2023. Patricia ran into trouble following a breach in its security sometime in 2022. But it remained a well-kept secret until May 2023 when Technext reported the breach. The crypto exchange reportedly lost N2 billion in the process.

In November 2023, we also reported how the Nigeria Police Force announced the arrest of one Wilfred Bonse, 2024 Cross River gubernatorial candidate as one of the suspects connected to the February 2022  Patricia breach.

Read here:

Cross River governorship candidate Wilfred Bonse arrested in connection with Patricia hack

Background check by Technext showed that Wilfred Bonse was a gubernatorial candidate for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Cross River state, during the March 2023 governorship election. Also, Peoples Gazette reported in February 2023 that Wilfred Bonse was accused of benefiting at least N40 million from a cyber fraud scheme executed by a group of hackers identified as The Syndicate.

According to the NPF statement, Wilfred Bonse conspired to launder Fifty Million Naira (N50,000,000) originating from the fraudulent diversion of Six Hundred and Seven Million Naira (N607,000,000:00k) from Patricia Technology company’s account to his bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.

In a private conversation with Technext then, Hanu Fejiro said Wilfred Bonse was one of the kingpins in the hack, the perpetrators used politicians to launder the money and there were “current members of high political office yet to be announced.” Notably, the Wilfred Bonse case has been rescheduled for June 2024 following a court recess, per Patricia. 

Last week, Techpoint Africa said in a report that the Nigerian Police Force identified seven individuals in connection to the hack. Per the report, six of seven suspects have been brought in for questioning while one suspect who is believed to have masterminded the entire operation was on the loose.

Will this arrest lead to repayment?

Hanu Fejiro in the conversation with Technext said this latest arrest would lead to more repayment of customers’ funds, even though the culprit has only made a payment of a meagre five million naira.

“However, we have proof and evidence backing this House of Rep Member and we believe that he would be able to make sizeable recoveries if justice is served as he masterminded theft in the hundreds of millions.”  – Hanu Fejiro said.

There are, however, fears that the said politician, due to his elevated position, might not meet up with the repayment of more than 100 million and was only making promises to keep authorities at bay and himself safe for the time being.