Nigerian Instagram star aided North Korea cyber crime, US says

US officials say a Nigerian influencer, with the help of a Canadian, aided North Korean hackers to launder money stolen from a Maltese bank. — AFP

A Nigerian social-media celebrity helped North Korean hackers launder money stolen from a Maltese bank, US officials said.

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas played a supporting role in cyber-scams perpetrated by three computer programmers accused of extorting more than US$1.3bil (RM5.25bil) of cash and cryptocurrency, the Justice Department said on Feb 17. Abbas, who is widely known as "Hushpuppi” and is in US custody while awaiting trial, has 2.5 million followers on Instagram, where he regularly posted photographs posing with luxury cars or boarding private jets.