Instagram deactivates Hushpuppi’s account for violating policy

Instagram has deleted the verified account of Ramon Abbas, commonly known as Hushpuppi, a Nigerian who has been arrested and facing high-profile fraud charges in the US.

The popular social media networking service deactivated his account for flouting usage policy.

Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has rules against fraudulent activity that could cause harm to people or businesses.

“We don’t want anyone to use our apps to defraud or exploit people and have clear rules against fraudulent activity – including money laundering,” Meta said after taking action.

Hushpuppi was arrested in June 2020 in the United Arab Emirates, where he lived.

However, his Instagram account was still active and displayed posts about money and riches.

His affluent lifestyle attracted over 2.8 million followers across the globe.

It was only a few days ago that Instagram decided to remove him from their platform.

Hushpuppi is undergoing trial for conspiracy to launder money obtained from business email compromised fraud and other scams, including schemes that defrauded a US law firm of about $40 million, illegally transferred $14.7 million from a foreign financial institution, and targeted to steal $124 million from an English Premier League club.

He pleaded guilty to money laundering in a US court less than a year later and is considered one of the world’s most high-profile fraudsters.

According to police reports, he tried to steal more than $1.1m ($960m) in his last plot. He had a network of people all over the world.

According to documents filed in California, his crimes cost nearly $24 million, and he now faces a potential 20-year jail sentence.