A Nigerian businessman Nasiru Danu has received the sum of $100,000 initially confiscated by UK airport security.
Court documents and banking details seen by Premium Times showed the money was paid with interest that accrued in the last one year as ordered by a magistrate court on September 7.
The money was paid in two tranches of $50,471 on September 23 according to documents seen by the online newspaper.
Mr Danu was arrested by immigration officers on arrival at a London airport on September 13, 2019 after his then newly-acquired Maltese passport with which he travelled turned out to be fake.
It was gathered he had been scammed of $35,000 by a supposed travel agency which offered to help him obtain a Maltese passport.
Following the seizure of his money, the businessman challenged a notice for confiscation filed at a court by the immigration authorities.
He said the money was his legitimate earning and that he declared it appropriately with customs authorities in Nigeria before travelling to the UK.
According to him, he was carrying large amount of cash because his credit card had failed him repeatedly.
A lawyer for the businessman Femi Joshua said: “The court found that the security officials were wrong to seize the money as the money was from legitimate income which was not intended for an unlawful purpose and should therefore be returned to the owners.”
After being deported to Nigeria, Danu petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over the passport fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took over the case and is now prosecuting a woman named Rabbi Okpara before an FCT High Court for allegedly defrauding Danu and other unsuspecting Nigerians.
The prosecution told the court Okpara runs a fraudulent travel agency called Green Valley Concept Limited.
