The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, June 29, 2026, arraigned one Usie Otukpa Osang before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja for fraud.
He was arraigned on an eight-court charge bordering on impersonation and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of AUD$8,427,330.83 (Eight Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Australian dollars, Eighty- Three cents) and US $3,639,462.00 (Three Million, Six Hundred and Thirty-Nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Two United States Dollars).
Court Three of the charge reads: “That you, Usie Otukpa Osang (alias Oscar Tyler and Ford Thompson) and others at large, sometime between May, 2021 and May, 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, with the intent to defraud, conspired with others at large to obtain the aggregate sum of AUD $8,427,330.83 83 (Eight Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Australian dollars, Eighty- Three cents) from Brian Jacques Creigh, an Australian Citizen and the CEO of an investment firm Panacea Capital under the false pretence that Liquid Assets Group is a licensed online cryptocurrency trading and investment platform and offered significant return on investments, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Count six reads: “That you, Usie Otukpa Osang (alias Oscar Tyler and Ford Thompson) and others at large, sometime between 14th August, and 23rd November, 2021, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, with the intent to defraud, obtained a total of BTC 19.806 valued at $1,079,313.00 (One Million Seventy-Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Thirteen United States Dollars.) through Binance wallet address: 16axdmS3aQUwFUwFUzHrSaozofuE3XY7bWaEw from Brian Jacques Creigh, an Australian Citizen and the CEO of an investment firm Panacea Capital under the false pretence that Liquid Assets Group is a licensed online cryptocurrency trading and investment platform and offered significant return on investments which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, Christopher Mshelia, to ask the court for a trial date and to remand the defendant in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, while the defence counsel, K.I. Shuaibu applied for the defendant’s bail.
The court adjourned the matter till July 14, 2026 for the hearing of bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre.