Thursday, February 12, 2026 - A Nigerian socialite under investigation over allegations of involvement in an online romance and investment scam, Henry Ikeji, has described the accusations as a concerted attempt to ruin his reputation.
Ikeji spoke with AIT on Wednesday, rejecting claims
that he defrauded a Romanian woman of millions of dollars and saying the matter
was being misrepresented in public discourse.
Police in Nigeria’s National Cybercrime Centre are reviewing
an investigative documentary that alleges Ikeji impersonated the Crown Prince
of Dubai in a sophisticated online romance‑cum‑investment fraud that reportedly
cost the victim about $2.5 million.
Addressing reporters in the interview, Ikeji said the funds
involved in the matter were paid into his account in naira and questioned the
motive behind how the allegations were being spread.
“The money was paid to me from a naira account. While I’m
explaining this and saying all this, I feel like there is a targeted plan to
destroy my reputation because, as it stands now, nobody believes me.
“All my people that believe in my reputation, they are all
now doubting me. All my friends have flown away; everybody now is calling me a
criminal. All over the internet is circulating that I scammed a Romanian
woman.”
Ikeji did not provide documentary evidence to support his
claims during the interview, but insisted the narrative being circulated was
damaging his personal and professional life.
Earlier reports said the alleged ordeal began when a
Romanian woman, identified only as Laura in a documentary published by the Organized
Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, was contacted on LinkedIn by someone
claiming to be the Dubai Crown Prince.
Police have stated they are still in the profiling stage of
the investigation and are analysing the information available in the public
domain.
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