Spanish police arrest Nigerian 'archduchess'
January 2, 2020
Police in Spain arrested on Thursday a woman who posed as the president of the Spanish branch of UN Women, requesting funds and giving interviews to the media.
The woman of Nigerian origin with Spanish nationality was detained in Denia on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast on charges of impersonation and fraud.
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The woman allegedly provided online legal courses and solicited "funds to carry out different projects related to the institution she claimed to represent," police said in a statement.
She "participated in conferences and gave interviews in different media," police said.
The investigation began in mid-2018 when the police received a complaint from the New York-based UN Women about a woman posing as the president of UN Women in Spain and the Spanish National Committee of UN Women.
UN Women, a body "dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women," does not have a country office in Spain, according to its website.
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After the complaint, there were several communications between the organization and the woman in order to make her understand the illicit actions. She was asked to stop, but refused.
Big claims, little backing
Spanish media identified the woman as Helen Mukoro Idisi.
On her personal website, she describes herself an "archduchess" and "Nigerian aristocrat," as well as a "Spanish politician, detective, author, legal expert, business and finance consultant."
The books she allegedly wrote, including such titles as "Make Wealth Anywhere," were sold on Amazon.
Her other claimed titles are president of the African Europe Chamber of Commerce, a non-existent organization, and "advisor on diaspora and auxiliary affairs" of the Delta State of Nigeria, where she was born.
She also established a political party, "Union de Todos" (Union for All), and participated in at least three elections. According to El Confidencial newspaper, she received the fewest votes to be Spain's head of government in the last election, with just 31 votes.
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