$23m fraud: Nigerian real estate CEO arrested at Dublin airport minutes before Paris flight

DUBLIN — An international manhunt for a 39-year-old Nigerian-born businessman wanted in connection with an alleged $22.8 million invoice-redirection fraud has ended at Dublin Airport, Ireland.

Edwin Omokhuale, a naturalised British citizen and chief executive of a Lagos-based real estate company, was arrested by members of An Garda Síochána on Wednesday afternoon, September 9, 2026, moments before he was due to board a flight to Paris.

His arrest followed a UK extradition warrant issued in connection with money laundering allegations arising from the multimillion-dollar fraud.

According to allegations by investigators from the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), the fraud was carried out in early 2023 against an Australian coal mining company.

Finance employees at the company were reportedly deceived into transferring $22,782,663 from the firm’s legitimate account with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) into a National Australia Bank (NAB) account that had allegedly been fraudulently established to mirror the company’s genuine banking profile.

The mining company’s bank subsequently recovered $1,589,867, leaving an alleged net loss of approximately $20.97 million.

NCA investigators further allege that Omokhuale played an active role in arranging the movement of the stolen funds through multiple bank accounts in China and Turkey, an action that forms part of the money laundering allegations against him.

Following his arrest at Dublin Airport, Omokhuale appeared before the High Court in Dublin on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

During the proceedings, he was informed of his legal rights, including his option to consent to his immediate surrender to the United Kingdom.

However, he was remanded in custody pending a formal extradition hearing scheduled to take place later this month.

The case has attracted international attention because of the scale of the alleged fraud and the cross-border movement of the proceeds, involving financial institutions and law enforcement authorities across several countries.

Omokhuale remains an accused person, and the allegations against him have not been proven in court.