The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested politician, Wilfred Bonse, for allegedly engaging in laundering funds stolen from Patricia Technologies.

According to a statement read by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Nigeria Police Force’s public relations officer, law enforcement officers have made significant strides in the investigation of the complex financial fraud case reported by Patricia Technologies Limited.

“The case involves criminal conspiracy, unauthorized modification of computer systems, network data, and the unlawful diversion of funds amounting to over Two Hundred Million Naira ($250,156) as contained in a petition to the Inspector General of Police,” the police said in a statement published on X.

“Having registered his involvement in the complex crime, Wilfred Bonse conspired in laundering the sum of Fifty Million Naira ($62,539) originating from the fraudulent diversion of Six Hundred and Seven Million Naira ($838,023) from Patricia Technology company’s account to his bank account through a cryptocurrency wallet.”

Patricia has been under fire from users in Nigeria since it suspended withdrawals from its crypto platform in May 2023 when it discovered a security breach that compromised its Bitcoin and Naira assets.

At the time, the company confirmed that it had identified an individual involved in the breach with the assistance of law enforcement pledging to collaborate with law enforcement agencies and other partners to recover the affected assets.

Nonetheless, the company continued to face a lot of backlash from the public despite a plan to have users receive a newly created Patricia token in place for their missing Bitcoin.

Patricia CEO, Fejiro Hanu, insists that the company’s plan to refund users of their funds is underway noting that the process began on November 20 2023 and would continue until all affected users are paid back.

The funds intercepted by police are just a fraction of all funds lost but recovery from this would go a long way to sooth Patricia users, the CEO added.

At the same time, while the investigation is ongoing, the Nigeria Police Force wishes to assure the public that all individuals involved in this criminal conspiracy will be brought to justice.

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Blast, a recently launched Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, experienced an unusual surge in assets with an inflow of over $500 million a few days after its introduction on November 212023.

Introducing Blast: The only Ethereum L2 with native yield for ETH and stablecoins.

We’ve raised $20m from @Paradigm and @StandardCrypto to build the L2 that helps you earn more.

Details on how to get early access at the end of the threadpic.twitter.com/AYYmK8YFx4

— Blast (@Blast_L2) November 20, 2023

Layer 2 networks are the hottest projects in crypto in 2023. These networks, which operate on top of layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum, address issues related to speed, cost, and scalability. Blast utilizes bridges, blockchain-based tools that facilitate the transfer of tokens between different networks.

Blast incorporates a native staking feature that aims to generate returns by combining Ethereum staking with real-world assets, providing users with a unique opportunity for investment growth. Depositors start earning yields on the transferred Ether alongside BLAST points.

“Blast natively participates in ETH staking, and the staking yield is passed back to the L2’s users and dapps,” the team said.

“We’ve redesigned the L2 from the ground up so that if you have 1 ETH in your wallet on Blast, over time, it grows to 1.04, 1.08, 1.12 ETH automatically.”

Out of the total funds bridged, more than $500 million in Ether has been staked on Lido, as of this writing, offering an annualized yield of up to 4%. Additionally, there’s $63 million on Maker, and $468k held in its wallets.

Users are required to wait until the mainnet launch in February 2024 before being able to withdraw funds from the network or engage in on-chain activities. Blast Bridge is currently invite-only, with access granted through a code from invited users. Additionally, the redemption of BLAST points is set to commence in May 2024.

Blast secured over $20 million in a funding round led by Paradigm and Standard Crypto. The project is led by the pseudonymous @PacmanBlur, who is also one of the co-founders of the NFT marketplace, Blur.

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