Nigerian couple Bamise Ajetunmobi and Elizabeth Ajetunmobi wanted in Nigeria for a multibillion naira investment scam were granted citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda in April, the country has said.
The couple have been on the run after allegedly duping investors of more than N22 billion.
The island country’s Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) said in a statement that the Ajetunmobi couple were granted citizenship in April after “intense internal examination.”
“Both Bamise Ajetunmobi and Elizabeth Ajetunmobi were granted citizenship in April 2021 having applied under the Citizenship by Investment Programme,” the statement read.
The Ajetunmobi couple ran a company Imagine Global, a micro-lending service to small and medium businesses, which offered 22 percent interest on loans and 10 percent returns to investors.
CIU said a “leading global due diligence firm” it ostensibly hired to carry out a background check on the couple did not find anything disparaging about them and Imagine Global at the time they were given citizenship.
“No Interpol Red Notice had been issued for either Mr Bamise Ajetunmobi or Elizabeth Ajetunmobi. As such, at the issuance of citizenship, there was no adverse media, criminal or civil litigation, neither were there regulatory concerns associated with the applicants and their businesses,” the CIU said.
The couple’s alleged scams only came to the fore this month.
The unit said it has, however, taken note of the reports about them and their alleged crimes and is “awaiting the issuance of an official statement by the authorities in Nigeria.”
Last week, Antigua prime minister Gaston Browne indicated the couple would be arrested if they enter the country.
