Three siblings who were working directly for the leader of a notorious Nigerian crime gang, Black Axe, have been jailed today for a total of 16 years after laundering nearly £1m for the syndicate through UK bank accounts.
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Okemiorukaye Nakpodia, 56, was found guilty of conspiracy to money launder at Woolwich Crown Court on 8 May. Esther Nakpodia, 35, Unuakpotovo Nakpodia, 46, both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
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They laundered the proceeds of hundreds of frauds between 2007 and 2015.
oney from a number of the victims of the original frauds ended up in the defendants’ bank accounts and was then laundered by the Nakpodias.
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The leader of the Black Axe and Delta State politician, Augustus Bemigho-Eyeoyibo, is the brother-in-law of the three defendants. Black Axe is a banned organisation in Nigeria and has been linked to decades of murders, rapes, extortion and drug dealing in Nigeria and across the world, with members allegedly swearing a ‘blood oath’ to join.
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Philip Slough, for the CPS, said: “This prosecution will play a role in starving a dangerous criminal gang of funds and we will seek to recover their proceeds of crime at a later hearing.”
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Unuakpotovo was jailed for seven years and seven months, Okemiorukaye was jailed for six years and six months, while Esther was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
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Esther claimed to have never heard of Black Axe, denying links to the organisation - this despite the fact her sister has been married to the group’s leader for 14 years.
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She denied knowing that Augustus is involved in gang activity, and said she believed he was a reputable business man.
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