The Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged 53 individuals, including 40 Chinese nationals, before the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged cyber fraud and identity theft. The suspects are accused of defrauding victims across the globe.
The individuals, arraigned on February 18 2025, were among the 792 suspects arrested by the EFCC in December 2024 for alleged cryptocurrency and romance fraud. The operation, known as the ‘Eagle Flush Operation,’ was the agency’s largest raid to date.
🇳🇬REGULATION | EFCC #Nigeria Busts Up Crypto Fraud Syndicate in Lagos, Arrests 193 Foreign Nationals
The Commission is working with international partners and will investigate possible connections to organized crime.https://t.co/vDxrWamCNE @officialEFCC pic.twitter.com/GoFuq934rM
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 17, 2024
The EFCC has accused the defendants of various offenses, including:
- Cybercrimes
- Cyber-terrorism
- Impersonation
- Possession of forged documents, and
- Identity theft
Three of the defendants – Xia Guang Can, Li Xu Xin, and Zhang Xue Hui – were most recently charged before Justice M. Kakaki while Lu Yubo faced a two-count charge before Justice Ayokunle Faji.
The individuals are being accused of ‘destabilizing and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria.’
For instance, the charge against Hui reads as below:
“That you, ZHANG XUE HUI sometime in December 2024 at Lagos within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court cause to be accessed a computer system used for the purpose of destabilizing and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable) under Section 18(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act 2015.“
On December 10 2024, the EFCC apprehended 792 individuals for their alleged roles in cryptocurrency investment fraud and online romance scams. Among them were:
- 148 Chinese
- 40 Filipinos
- 2 Kharzartans
- 1 Pakistani, and
- 1 Indonesian, while
- The rest were Nigerian nationals
The EFCC described the raid as its largest single-day operation, calling it a ‘landmark raid.’
The arrests were made following a tip-off and verified intelligence, revealing that the suspects operated from a seven-story building known as the Big Leaf Building, located at No. 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to the EFCC chairman, the foreign suspects trained their Nigerian accomplices in executing investment and romance scams, using their identities as a cover. The choice of their hideout was also strategic, as it closely resembled the corporate headquarters of a financial institution.
The EFCC detailed the seized items, noting that every floor of the building was equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the third floor, authorities discovered approximately 500 SIM cards from local telecom providers, allegedly used for criminal activities. Additional items recovered during the raid included desktop computers, mobile phones, laptops, and cars.
The EFCC claims that the syndicate laundered proceeds from its fraudulent activities through Genting International Co. Limited, a Nigerian-registered company allegedly established by foreign nationals.
In an affidavit circulated in the Nigerian press, EFCC officer, Owolani Tawio, revealed that over 2.26 billion Nigerian Naira ($1.5 million) was deposited into the company’s Union Bank account between April and December 2024.
The funds primarily originated from two cryptocurrency traders, Chukwuemeka Okeke and Alhassan Aminu Garba, who received a total of $2.39 million from the syndicate through peer-to-peer trading. Investigations traced these funds back to Ponzi schemes, including Conti.VIP.
In recent months, EFCC has stepped up law enforcement against illegal cryptocurrency operations within Nigeria.
🇳🇬REGULATION | #Nigeria Continues Crackdown Against Unlicensed Crypto Firms With Latest ~$15,000 Conviction
The ruling is the latest demonstration of the EFCC’s continued legal efforts to clamp down on unlicensed USDT-to-Naira transactionshttps://t.co/46P2ZarMK3 @officialEFCC pic.twitter.com/VH9ib7X2Pv
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 19, 2024
In the same December 2024, the commission had obtained an order to freeze 5 bank accounts belonging to an alleged crypto scam collecting money from individuals to buy a crypto mining rig.
🇳🇬REGULATION | Nigeria Court Freezes Bank Accounts Linked to a ~28,700 Crypto Mining Fraud
“[The] investigation so far has revealed that the suspect did not use the funds for the intended purpose.” – @officialEFCC https://t.co/bhwLJ24Pxn pic.twitter.com/Tm1QBYuYAQ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 3, 2024
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