The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested 792 suspects , including 192 foreigners in a bid to curb financial crimes and protect citizens from fraudulent activities.
This operation, which was described by the law enforcement agency as its largest bust, was carried out on December 10 at the Big Leaf Building.
The commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, representing EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at a press briefing on the 16th of December, at the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Commission, described the raid as a “landmark operation”.
EFCC: Foreign masterminds taught their Nigerian partners in crime
These foreign suspects included 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, 2 Kharzatans, 1 Pakistani and 1 Indonesian. According to the agency, they were the masterminds of the operation and they taught their Nigerian partners in crime how to properly accomplish the cryptocurrency and romance scams.
These fraudsters created fake accounts to lure the unsuspecting victims, predominantly from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe to invest in their scam platforms or romantically and this eventually led to swindling of their finances. It was revealed by the agency that every floor of the building was equipped with high-end desktop computers and about 500 SIM cards of local telcos from the fifth floor alone, were used for their illegal activities.
The leaders of the foreign syndicate equipped their Nigerian recruits with computers, mobile devices, and counterfeit profiles. Their mission was to entice unsuspecting victims through platforms like WhatsApp which was linked to foreign phone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy.. They were also granted access to international communication lines, enabling them to convincingly impersonate foreign nationals.
According to EFCC, a primary method used to defraud victims was a fraudulent online investment platform, www.yooto.com, which charged activation fees for interested users starting at $35. Nigerian accomplices underwent two weeks of training to establish rapport with victims before transferring them to their foreign handlers. These handlers would then execute the scam and sever the Nigerians’ access to the operation.
“This operation,” Olukoyode says, “highlights how foreigners are exploiting Nigerians’ skills while using them as cover for their criminal activities” and he expressed that due to these online scams, the country’s reputation gets tarnished and also risks people all over the world. At the point of arrest, desktop computers, mobile phones, laptops were seized. The scammers are to be charged to court after investigations draw to a close.”
The EFCC Chairman also highlights the importance of collective efforts. “This operation is a testament to our resolve to disrupt criminal networks and restore integrity to Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. The fight against cybercrime is critical to the Nigerian government’s broader agenda of improving security and fostering economic growth.”
The EFCC pledged to work very closely with international law enforcement agencies to ensure there is no safe havens for these fraudsters operating in Nigeria.
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