For cybercrime, Lebanese Bags 1 Year in prison and must forfeit N100 million to the FG

Hamza Koudeih, a Lebanese cybercriminal, was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison with the option of a N1 million fine by Justice Tijjani Ringim of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The court also gave the federal government Koudeih’s N100 million in a firm’s Zenith Bank account.

The convict’s Mercedes Benz GLE43 SUV, two iPhones, and an HP desktop computer were also confiscated.

The decision came after Koudeih agreed to a plea deal with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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In November of last year, the EFCC charged Koudeih as the second defendant, alongside his Nigerian co-defendant, Kayode Philip alias Voice of the King.

They pleaded not guilty to charges of cyber fraud and attempting to keep $6 million and £1 million from the Bank of China.

They also “knowingly engaged in computer phishing and spamming, resulting in the acquisition of sensitive information” from various emails, according to the EFCC.

On August 24, Koudeih, who was out on bail, tried and failed to get permission from the court to return to his home country to see his psychiatrist. He then went to the EFCC and told them he wanted to change his plea.

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Following that, Koudeih signed an EFCC bond promising to “be of good behavior and never to be involved in any form of economic and financial crime both within and outside the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“I have listened to the submission of the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, on the plea bargain agreement between the second defendant and the commission,” Justice Ringim said in upholding the application.

“This court has entered the same agreement as a judgment.”