Neda Bernards Imasuen, now a Nigerian senator, was implicated in a $25 million bank fra¥d scheme in the U.S. before fleeing to Nigeria, where he built a political career and currently leads the Senate ethics committee, an exclusive report by Peoples Gazette reveals.
Before his return in 2010, Imasuen practiced law in New York but was later disbarred for financial misconduct and ignoring court subpoenas. U.S. court documents reveal he was named in a federal indictment as a key figure in a mortgage fraud scheme that targeted 33 banks, including Citi Bank, HSBC, and Wells Fargo. The FBI identified him as the lawyer who facilitated the fra¥dulent transactions, working with co-conspirator Imran Ismile Badoolah.
While Badoolah was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in 2017, Imasuen was listed as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” Records suggest he returned to Nigeria around the same time federal agents opened their investigation.
Despite his disbarment, Imasuen continued practicing law in Nigeria, consulting on World Bank and EU-funded projects. In 2023, he was elected senator under the Labour Party and later chaired the Senate ethics committee. In this role, he recently led the controversial suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a move widely criticized as unconstitutional.
Imasuen’s case adds to a growing list of Nigerian officials with controversial pasts, including President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was disbarred in the U.S. for financial misconduct.
