The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over organized foreign syndicates recruiting young Nigerians into cryptocurrency fraud.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that these syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and engaging young Nigerians in serious organized cybercrimes.
Olukoyede made this revelation in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 18 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), led by Director of Studies, Hyginus Ngele.
“Another dimension that is not given attention is the discovery, recently, that organized foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into serious organized cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” he said.
Olukoyede reported that 194 foreign nationals were arrested by the commission, some of whom did not possess valid visas.
“In the special operations we carried out in Lagos recently, we arrested 194 foreigners in the heart of Victoria Island. One hundred and ninety-four of them, Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, Tunisians, and the like, were in one building at a time. Some of them don’t even have valid visas, and most of the financial activities they carried out were through cryptocurrency,” he added.
Ex-convicts
He further disclosed that some of the arrested foreign nationals were already ex-convicts in their respective countries.
“Some of the foreigners we arrested were already ex-convicts in their countries. They have been convicted and escaped from their countries, finding safe haven in Africa, not only Nigeria. We discovered they are also developing cells in other African countries through our investigations,” he explained.
The EFCC Chairman called for concerted efforts at both national and continental levels to combat the menace of internet fraudsters, stressing that the money laundering and national security dimensions of the presence of foreign organized crime groups demand close scrutiny.
“All security, intelligence, and law enforcement organizations in Nigeria and indeed Africa must close ranks in dealing with this challenge,” he emphasized.
What you should know
Last Friday, the EFCC arraigned 17 Chinese nationals and a company, Genting International Co. Ltd, before Justice Musa Kakaki and Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on charges of alleged crypto fraud and other offences.
- The individuals arraigned on February 21, 2025, include Mao Bu Yi, Li Xiang Long, Dai Li, Yu Hai Qing, Jia Yang, and Jia Zhi.
- Others are Hao Tao Kun, Liu Chuang, Zhao Xiao Liang, Ziao Zi Cheng, Zhang San Feng, Li Zhong Chan, Chen Gui Ping, Su Jan Fu, Su Zong Gen, Wang Jie, and Zeng Zerong.
They are among the 792 suspects involved in cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud, arrested during the EFCC’s “Eagle Flush Operation” on December 10, 2024.
