Within Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria and Ghana, recent years have seen a rise in allegations linking individuals to romance scams and other forms of cyber fraud.
In a new case, a Nigerian socialite identified as Nzube Henry Ikeji allegedly posed as the “Crown Prince of Dubai” to defraud a Romanian businesswoman of $2.5 million in what investigators describe as a romance and humanitarian investment scam.
The allegation is contained in an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), published on its YouTube channel on February 4, 2026.
According to the documentary, the alleged fraud began about three years ago when the Romanian woman, identified as Laura, was contacted on LinkedIn by someone claiming to be the Dubai Crown Prince.
The impersonator reportedly spoke about plans to invest in a humanitarian project in Romania through Laura.
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Their exchanges on social media gradually developed into what Laura believed was a romantic relationship.
After some time, the alleged criminal asked her to meet his “financial manager” in London to facilitate the opening of a British bank account for the investment. During one of the meetings, Laura asked a business partner to secretly take a photograph of the man introduced to her as the financial manager.
She was later given login details to what appeared to be a British bank account showing a deposit of more than £200,000. However, she later realised the account had been cloned and the funds were not real.
When she attempted to withdraw part of the money, she received an email requesting a substantial fee before the funds could be released. Laura reportedly transferred more than $2.5 million before growing concerned about how to recover her money.
The documentary further alleged that disagreements later broke out among Nzube Henry Ikeji’s suspected accomplices over how to share the proceeds. Two of them allegedly contacted Laura and disclosed details of the scheme.
When she confronted the man posing as the Dubai Crown Prince with these claims, he reportedly told her they were trying to create enmity between them.
Laura eventually realised she had been scammed and began demanding a refund but her efforts did not yield results.
One of the aggrieved partners of the alleged Nigerian scammer later disclosed the true identity of the impersonator as Nzube Henry Ikeji and sent Laura a video of him at what he described as his newly acquired mansion.
How the suspect was tracked down
As part of the investigation, the OCCRP team travelled to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital and worked with journalist Chikezie Omeje to trace the alleged impersonator.
By examining Ikeji’s Instagram account and posts by his wife, investigators gathered clues about his lifestyle and movements.
The social media posts reportedly showed him displaying luxury purchases, including trips to London, wristwatches and vehicles.
One video showed him throwing bundles of naira during a performance by Nigerian superstar Davido.
Initially, investigators said they struggled to identify his residence. A breakthrough reportedly came when his wife posted about their new mansion in Abuja. Another image showed Ikeji posing with a prominent real estate developer in Nigeria.
The Nigerian journalist working with the OCCRP team said he spent days visiting estates linked to the developer and comparing them with images and videos posted online before eventually locating the mansion in Abuja.
When approached at the residence and asked if he knew Laura from Romania, Ikeji reportedly denied any knowledge of her. When asked if he had claimed to be the Dubai Crown Prince, he questioned the journalist’s source and how he had located his home.
He is also said to have declined to answer questions about an individual identified as Dr Martins Abhulimhen, stating that such enquiries should be directed to his lawyer.
According to the documentary, Laura had earlier submitted the photograph of the so-called financial manager to UK police. The man was later identified as Martins Abhulimhen.
UK authorities reportedly informed her that Abhulimhen was under investigation over suspicious funds, which were believed to include Laura’s money. The investigation alleged that funds were transferred from Abhulimhen’s account in the UK to Ikeji’s account in Nigeria.
Watch the documentary below:
AK/AM
