Nigerian music star Davido has opened up about his past friendship with Hushpuppi, the convicted internet fraudster currently serving an 11-year prison sentence in the United States.
Speaking during a recent interview on the BagFuel podcast, Davido revealed that while he and Hushpuppi were friends, he was not aware of his involvement in illegal activities.
He also suggested that Hushpuppi could be released soon, adding that he continues to pray for him.
“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,” Davido said.
“In Nigeria, 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 am good. People are like that. My prayers go out to him. He was my friend. I just see him around, I never really knew what he was doing. But he lived a good life.”
Hushpuppi, whose real name is Ramon Abbas, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in June 2020 along with 11 associates over charges including hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to money laundering and attempting to steal over $1.1 million from an individual who planned to fund a school in Qatar.
He was later sentenced to 11 years and three months in November 2022 by a US federal court for his role in laundering millions of dollars through various online fraud schemes.
