Report: Nigerian socialite impersonates Dubai Crown Prince, defrauds Romanian businesswoman of $2.5m

A Nigerian socialite, Nzube Henry Ikeji, allegedly posed as the Crown Prince of Dubai to defraud a Romanian businesswoman of $2.5 million through a romance and humanitarian investment scheme.
The allegation is contained in an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
According to the report, the fraud began about three years ago when the victim, identified as Laura, was contacted on LinkedIn by a man claiming to be the Dubai Crown Prince. He reportedly told her he was interested in investing in a humanitarian project in Romania through her.
Their online conversations later developed into what investigators described as a romantic relationship.
At some point, the impostor asked Laura to meet his supposed financial manager in London to facilitate the opening of an account with a British bank. During one of the meetings, Laura asked a business partner to secretly photograph the man presented as the financial manager.
She was later given login details to a bank account which showed a deposit of over £200,000. However, she later discovered that the account was cloned and the funds were not genuine.
When Laura attempted to withdraw part of the money, she received an email requesting payment of a large fee before the funds could be released. She reportedly transferred more than $2.5 million before becoming alarmed and attempting to recover her money.
The investigation revealed that Ikeji’s alleged accomplices later fell out over how to share the proceeds. Two of them reportedly contacted Laura and exposed the details of the fraud.
When Laura confronted the man posing as the Dubai Crown Prince, he allegedly claimed his partners were trying to cause conflict between them. She later realised she had been scammed, but efforts to recover her funds were unsuccessful.
One of the disgruntled partners eventually revealed the impostor’s identity as Nzube Henry Ikeji and sent Laura a video of him at what he described as his newly acquired mansion.
Tracking the suspect
OCCRP reporters travelled to Abuja to trace Ikeji with the help of journalist Chikezie Omeje. Through posts on Ikeji’s Instagram account and that of his wife, investigators gathered clues about his location and lifestyle.
The report said Ikeji frequently flaunted his wealth on social media, sharing videos of luxury shopping trips to London, expensive wristwatches, luxury cars, and footage of himself spraying bundles of naira at a Davido concert in Asaba.
An Instagram post by his wife announcing their new mansion in Abuja eventually provided investigators with a major lead. After comparing images from the post with known estates owned by a prominent real estate developer, Omeje was able to locate the residence.
When approached by the journalist, Ikeji denied knowing Laura and questioned the source of the allegations. He also declined to respond to questions about Martins Abhulimhen, the man identified as the purported financial manager, saying such matters should be directed to his lawyer.
The investigation further revealed that Laura reported the case to UK police using the photograph taken in London. The financial manager was later identified as Martins Abhulimhen, who was reportedly under investigation over suspicious funds.
UK authorities allegedly informed Laura that money linked to the case had been transferred from Abhulimhen’s account to Ikeji’s account in Nigeria.