The FBI has named Izunna Okonkwo, the celebrated co-founder of Nigerian tech startup Pastel and a 2023 Forbes Africa "30 Under 30" honoree, as a person of interest in a sprawling insider trading and money laundering conspiracy that allegedly generated $41 million in illegal profits.
In a major development, U.S. federal investigators have implicated a prominent Nigerian tech entrepreneur in a sophisticated, multi-million dollar financial fraud scheme. Izunna Okonkwo, 30, co-founder of the digital bookkeeping startup Pastel, is accused of being a key beneficiary of confidential information illegally leaked by an investment banker at Citibank.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, the scheme operated for five years. It centered on Gyunho Justin Kim, an investment banker at Citibank in San Francisco, who allegedly shared material, non-public information about upcoming corporate acquisitions with his friend, Saad Shoukat. Shoukat then passed the tips to Okonkwo and others, allowing them to purchase stocks before major deals were announced publicly.
The complaint details how the group profited from a series of high-profile pharmaceutical acquisitions. For instance, ahead of Gilead's $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics in 2020, Okonkwo allegedly began buying shares after receiving a tip. He reportedly made $2.3 million from that single deal. In total, prosecutors say profits from the conspiracy amounted to at least $41 million.
The FBI alleges Okonkwo was fully aware of the illegal source of the information. Messages intercepted by investigators show that Okonkwo and Shoukat discussed the impending Reata deal before it was public and even talked about helping their source, Kim, find a new job. Okonkwo and Shoukat reportedly had a written agreement to share the illegal proceeds 50-50.
This case casts a shadow over a rising star in Africa's tech ecosystem. Pastel, co-founded by Okonkwo with colleagues from Stanford University, raised a $5.5 million seed round and was featured prominently by Forbes in 2023. Notably, the complaint states that Okonkwo received a $3.5 million payout from the scheme just days before Pastel's own funding announcement.
Gyunho Justin Kim faces six counts, including insider trading, wire fraud, and money laundering. It remains unclear whether Izunna Okonkwo has been taken into custody. The FBI identifies him as a dual Nigerian-American citizen with business ties in Lagos, Nigeria, and Atlanta, Georgia.
The investigation underscores the global reach of financial crime and marks a dramatic fall from grace for an entrepreneur once celebrated as one of Africa's most promising young business leaders.
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