Five unnamed Nigerians have been arrested by the police in Crete, Greece, for allegedly defrauding a woman of over N73 million.
According to greekreporter.com, one of the Nigerians posed as Keanu Reeves, a popular Hollywood actor, in convincing the Greek woman to lend him money to complete a movie production.
The 55-year-old woman, whose name was not mentioned, thought she had met the real Keanu Reeves when she and the Nigerian impostor followed each other on Instagram in 2021.
After they became friends, the Nigerian asked for financial support from the Greek, vowing he would repay her from the proceeds of the movie.
The unsuspecting victim subsequently transferred funds to four different bank accounts opened by the Nigerians, who ended up defrauding her of €150,000, an equivalent of N73,227,000.
She realised something was wrong when the Nigerian Keanu Reeves stopped communicating with her. It was also at that point that she filed a complaint with the police.
From the investigation carried out by the police, the Nigerians perpetrated the fraud between June and November 2021. They then split the funds into smaller amounts and re-transferred them to their personal accounts.
The five Nigerians have been charged with fraud and other related offences, and are expected to face trial at a court in Crete.
A Greek citizen was also arrested in connection with the fraud.
Keanu Reeves featured in Hollywood blockbusters like The Matrix film series and John Wick.
