The FBI has linked Nigerian entrepreneur and Pastel co-founder Izunna Okonkwo to an insider trading and money laundering scheme that allegedly generated $41 million through illegal stock trades in multiple US companies.
Court filings in New Jersey reveal that 30-year-old Okonkwo, received confidential information from Citibank investment banker Gyunho Justin Kim, relayed via his friend Saad Shoukat.
The trio allegedly bought stocks ahead of public merger announcements, profiting when share prices surged.
Investigators traced Okonkwo’s brokerage logins to a London residence, also used by Shoukat to execute trades involving companies such as Immunomedics, Five Prime, and Sierra Oncology.
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Court documents indicate that Okonkwo and Shoukat agreed to split the illicit profits, with Okonkwo receiving roughly half.
Notably, Okonkwo reportedly earned over $2.3 million during Gilead’s acquisition of Immunomedics in 2020, with additional gains from buyouts by Amgen, GSK, Pfizer, and Biogen.
Combined profits for the group reportedly reached at least $41 million.
Okonkwo, a Forbes 30-under-30 honoree in 2023, co-founded Pastel in 2021 and has operated from Nigeria and Atlanta.
The FBI complaint notes encrypted communications between the conspirators and traces of logins from shared IP addresses.
Kim is already facing multiple counts of insider trading, wire fraud, and money laundering.
