Winnipeg man charged with defrauding Nunavut Inuit organization of $2.2M

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A antheral was arrested successful Winnipeg for defrauding the Qikiqtani Inuit Association of implicit $2 million, according to the Nunavut RCMP.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association says astir of the wealth was recovered

Emma Tranter · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 11:48 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

A gathering that has a motion with Qikiqtani Inuit Association connected the front.

A antheral was arrested successful Winnipeg for defrauding the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) of implicit $2 million, according to the Nunavut RCMP.

Chukwuma Eruchalu, 23, was arrested connected April 22 and charged with 1 number of fraud implicit $5,000.

The wealth was taken from QIA done what's called a "business email compromise" in November 2024 — a scam wherever idiosyncratic compromises concern email accounts "through societal engineering oregon machine intrusion to behaviour unauthorized transfers of funds," the RCMP said successful a quality merchandise Friday.

QIA is the determination Inuit relation that represents Inuit successful the Qikiqtaaluk area, which is chiefly made up of Baffin Island.

Nunavut RCMP enactment retired a announcement past November informing radical astir an summation successful "fraudulent activity" successful the territory.

They besides told CBC News astatine the clip that astir $3 cardinal was mislaid successful a azygous spear-phishing incident.

In email to CBC News, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. George Henrie said this is not the aforesaid incident.

"That is not the aforesaid lawsuit that's mentioned successful the CBC communicative ... That substance is inactive nether investigation," Henrie wrote.

In a abstracted quality release, QIA said it has recovered $2.1 cardinal of the full $2.2 cardinal lost.

"After investigating, QIA discovered that a third-party enactment was hacked. The perpetrator utilized a acquainted outer organization's email code and utilized that hacked email code to supply QIA with fraudulent banking details," wrote Karen Flaherty, QIA's manager of strategical communications.

Flaherty besides said QIA's systems were not compromised, but the enactment is grooming unit to marque definite they're informed astir cyber transgression and ways to support against different attacks.

Eruchalu was taked into custody and volition look successful tribunal successful Iqaluit connected May 27.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emma Tranter is simply a newsman with CBC North successful Yellowknife, mostly covering Nunavut's Kitikmeot region. She worked successful journalism successful Nunavut for 5 years, wherever she reported successful Iqaluit for CBC, The Canadian Press and Nunatsiaq News. She tin beryllium reached astatine [email protected].

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