A Nigerian, Izunna Okonkwo, alongside five others, has been indicted in the US for allegedly swindling $41 million through a stock market fraud scheme. The group, including dual US-Pakistani citizens Muhammad Saad Shoukat, Muhammad Arham Shoukat, Muhammad Shahwaiz Shoukat, and a dual UK-Pakistani citizen Daniyal Khan, is accused of insider trading and stock manipulation between June 2020 and February 2024.
The scam involved exploiting confidential info from an investment banker, Kim, who worked on mergers and acquisitions in healthcare and biopharmaceuticals. They manipulated stocks of Olema Pharmaceuticals and Opiant Pharmaceuticals, falsifying data to inflate prices and make illicit profits.
If convicted, they face 20-25 years in prison. Okonkwo isn’t the first Nigerian to face US fraud charges; Oluwaseun Adekoya was deported in December 2025 after serving 20 years for a $2m bank fraud.
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