Gal Pissetzky, the lawyer for Instagram influencer Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, better known as Ray Hushpuppi, is claiming his client was “kidnapped” by the FBI.
Hushpuppi and his accomplice, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as Mr. Woodberry, were arrested in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with the United States.
READ MORE: Nigerian influencer nabbed for money laundering and cybercrime
Pissetzky is not convinced that his client was legally extradited, and he stands by Hushpuppi’s assertions that he made his fortune as a real estate mogul and social media influencer.
“There was no extradition, there were no legal steps taken, there were no court documents filed, it was simply a call to the FBI. He is not a citizen of the United States,” Pissetzky said, according to BBC reports. “The US had absolutely no authority to take him,” he continued.
As theGrio previously reported, the 37-year-old Nigerian Instagram celebrity was arrested for an alleged money laundering operation. The FBI believes he stole hundreds of millions of dollars through Business Email Compromise (BEC), a process that involves hackers infiltrating and redirecting the communications of legitimate businesses in order to make wire transfers and launder money.
When the FBI and Interpol raided his Dubai apartment, they seized more than $37 million in cash, 13 luxury cars worth about 7 million, 21 computers, 47 smartphones, and obtained about two million addresses that are said to be from victims, BBC reported.
The Department of Justice said that the UAE gave FBI agents extradition rights.
Pissetzky points out that, “If Dubai wanted to expel him, they should have expelled him back to Nigeria. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. That is the real story here,” Pissetzky said.
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