<\/p>\n
Instagram has told the BBC that they deactivated the account of the Nigerian influencer and high-profile international fraudster, Hushpuppi, because he broke their rules on fraud.<\/p>\n
“We don\u2019t want anyone to use our apps to defraud or exploit people, and have clear rules against fraudulent activity – including money laundering,” a spokesperson from Meta, which owns Instagram, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“We disabled @hushpuppi\u2019s account for breaking these rules,” the statement continued.<\/p>\n
Hushpuppi, whose real name is Ramon Abbas, used to post luxurious images on his Instagram, displaying his expensive lifestyle to his 2.8 million followers.<\/p>\n
But that luxury lifestyle came to an abrupt end after he was arrested in Dubai, where he lived, in June 2020.<\/p>\n
Less than a year later, he pleaded guilty to money laundering in a US court and is considered to be one of the world’s most high-profile fraudsters, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n
Unsealed court documents showed that in his last plot, he tried to steal more than $1.1m ($960m) from someone who wanted to build a school in Qatar.<\/p>\n
He had a network all over the world, with some of his schemes spreading from Malta to Mexico.<\/p>\n
Documents filed in California say that his’ crimes cost nearly $24m, and he now faces a potential 20-year jail sentence.<\/p>\n
Despite Hushpuppi’s guilty plea last year, Instagram had not taken down his account at the time, saying they had investigated and decided not to close it.<\/p>\n
The current deactivation of his account was first picked up by Nigerian media on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Meta’s\u00a0rules on fraud\u00a0says they try to “prevent fraudulent activity that can harm people or businesses”.<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Featured Video\n<\/p>\n\n
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