Davido: I Didn’t Know Hushpuppi Was Into Fraud
Afrobeats star Davido has spoken out about his past friendship with convicted internet fraudster Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, saying he was unaware of his criminal activities.
Speaking during a recent podcast interview, the “Awuke” crooner admitted knowing Hushpuppi but denied any knowledge of his involvement in fraud. Davido expressed sympathy for his friend’s current situation and hoped for his release.
“Hushpuppi is coming out soon. He lived life. To me, it is not worth it to be locked up. But let me not make excuses for them. Some people are happy to ball for five years and that is it,” he said.
Davido also linked the rise in fraud to the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria, stating, “There is a kind of hardship you would face and you will be like, ‘you know what? Let me ball for two years then I’m good.’”
He stressed that while Hushpuppi was his friend, he only saw him occasionally and didn’t know what he was truly involved in.
Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai in June 2020 and later extradited to the United States. In 2022, he was sentenced to over 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution after pleading guilty to money laundering charges linked to multimillion-dollar fraud schemes.
