NBI arrests two Cameroonians over P42-million crypto scam in Pampanga

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested two Cameroonian nationals accused of scamming a South Korean investor of P42 million in cryptocurrency in Pampanga.

The suspects were identified as Vitalys Awa Njinwa, also known as “Johnson Brown,” and Pensiga Derick Sama, also known as “Stephane Andre Obame.”

Reports showed they were apprehended during an entrapment operation conducted on 20 November by operatives of the NBI Pampanga District Office (NBI-PAMDO) in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Clark Development Corporation–Public Safety Division (CDC-PSD).

Following their arrest, the two were presented for inquest before the City Prosecutor’s Office in Mabalacat, Pampanga, for robbery or extortion and estafa.

According to the NBI, it acted on a complaint filed by a South Korean national who alleged that “the Subjects had defrauded him of 731,750 USDT (cryptocurrency), equivalent to approximately P42,441,500, in connection with a purported Gold Transport Operation from Nairobi, Kenya, to Incheon, South Korea.”

Based on the complaint, “the amount represented alleged fees for customs processing, cargo insurance, warehouse charges, and other fabricated expenses.”

Investigators said the suspects provided fraudulent documents, including falsified landing permits, air waybills, and images and videos of supposed gold bars, to make it appear that the shipment had arrived and was being held by the Bureau of Customs–Port of Clark.

However, the NBI said that “the Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark certified that the Airway Bill presented by the subjects as purported proof of the gold shipment was not registered in the Bureau of Customs’ Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) System and had no record of arrival at the Port of Clark International Airport.”

The complainant also said the suspects threatened that the gold would not be released unless he paid an additional $1,000,000 — around P58 million — “as a bribe for the chief of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Clark.”

This prompted the victim to seek assistance from the NBI-PAMDO, which launched the entrapment operation that resulted in the arrest.