An Instagram influencer linked to a €13 million cyber heist at Bank of Valletta has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a US court.

According to court documents unsealed in the US last week, Nigerian social media personality Ramon Abbas, also known Hushpuppi, has pleaded guilty to a raft of financial crime and hacking charges.  

The guilty plea was submitted back in April and he could now face up to 20 years in prison. 

Abbas was arrested in June 2020 at his Dubai apartment and handed over to FBI agents who charged him with hacking and money laundering crimes which cost victims some $24 million.

BOV was hacked in 2019. File photo.

BOV is understood to be one of the hacker’s main victims after the bank’s IT systems were penetrated back in February 2019.

So far US authorities have only referred to a “foreign financial institution” and BOV have declined to confirm or deny the link.

According to the FBI’s sworn statement, Abbas and another person “conspired to launder funds intended to be stolen through fraudulent wire transfers from a foreign financial institution, in which fraudulent wire transfers totalling approximately €13 million were sent to bank accounts around the world in February 2019.”

Abbas, 37, is known for posting photos of his lavish lifestyle on Instagram, where he has more than 2 million followers.

Photo: Instagram.

In May of 2019 BOV said it had recovered €10 million of the total sum.

Earlier this year, a further six people were arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the heist. 

The UK's National Crime Agency had said hackers were able to access BOV systems and move the money into foreign accounts before some of the cash was spent on high-end goods including Rolex watches and an Audi A5 car.