Nigerian man and Thai wife arrested in Chonburi over “World Bank” romance scam

Nong Prue police on Saturday announced the arrest of a Nigerian man and his Thai wife for their involvement in an online romance scam.

Police say Uchenna Joseph Amujiogu, 40 and Wassana Kanchiak, 36 scammed a Thai woman out of 2 million baht.

The woman contacted police in June after she realised she had been a victim of the scam.

The woman told police how in February she was sent a friend request on Facebook by someone with the name of UD Danid who claimed to be a doctor in the US military.

The pair continued chatting online using Google Hangouts with the man later claiming he was called David Mandy.

The victim was then told a US$500,000 loan had been approved for her from the “World Bank” but in order to access it she would need to transfer $50,000 to release the rest of the money.

The victim, who was issued with a document from the “World Bank” transferred the money to multiple bank accounts but later realised the whole thing was a scam.

After the complaint was made, police studied CCTV footage from outside the ATMs of where some of the money was withdrawn.

It was then that they discovered someone who they believe to be Kanchiak dressed in a black jacket with a hood, sunglasses and a mask covering her face. 

On Saturday, police tracked down Amujiogu and Kanchiak to an address in Sattahip where they were arrested. They have been charged with numerous offences related to fraud. They remain in custody. 

Thai Visa / Naewna

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