Nigerian Socialite Hushpuppi Named in North Korean Cyber Crime

The U.S. government has accused Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, of involvement in a North Korean conspiracy leading to a multi-billion dollar cyber fraud. Hushpuppi, who is currently facing money laundering and wire fraud charges in the United States, allegedly took part in a "North Korean-perpetrated cyber-enabled heist from a Maltese bank" in February 2019. Hushpuppi played a supporting role in cyber-scams perpetrated by three computer programmers accused of extorting more than U.S.$1.3 billion of cash and cryptocurrency, the Justice Department said. The Nigerian social-media celebrity worked with a Canadian, Ghaleb Alaumary, who U.S. officials accused of organizing teams to launder millions of dollars stolen by hacking automated teller machines, including from BankIslami in Pakistan and a bank in India, according to the Justice Department.