Economic and Financial Crimes Commission - EFCC
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EFCC busts syndicates of 792 suspected crypto investment and romance scams in Lagos... 193 Chinese, Arabs, Filipinos, others arrested
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the Commission, in a historic raid, arrested 792 suspects for their alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency investment and romance scam.
The suspects were nabbed on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, during a surprise operation at their hideout, a seven-storey high-rise building known as the Big Leaf Building, at No. 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, on verifiable information received by the Commission.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, December 16, 2024 at the Commission's headquarters in Lagos, Olukoyede said that 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Khazars, one Pakistani and one Indonesian were arrested during the operation. The EFCC boss, who spoke through the Director, Public Relations, EFCC, Commander EFCC, CE Wilson Uwujaren, also said that the foreigners used the facility, which could be mistaken for the headquarters of a financial institution, to train their Nigerian associates on how to carry out romance and investment scams and also used the identities of their Nigerian associates to carry out their criminal activities. According to him, "all the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators found 500 SIM cards from local telecommunications companies acquired for criminal purposes.
"Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by foreign barons to seek out victims online through phishing, mainly targeting Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and some other people from European countries.
"They usually equip them with desktop and mobile devices and create fake profiles for them.
"The Nigerian accomplices also obtain logs that allow them to access the communication lines and foreign victims they chat with on WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram."
While giving more details on the syndicate's modus operandi, the EFCC chairman said that the Nigerian operatives who are given WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign phone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy, engage victims in romantic chats and ghost business and investment discussions. to entice them to buy on the supposed online investment buying platform called www.yooto.com. He added: "For those who show interest, the fee to activate an account on the platform starts at $35.
"The survey revealed that the criteria for recruiting these young Nigerians is the ability to use computers, especially typing. Those who pass the test are given desktop and mobile devices, then undergo two weeks of training on how to pose as foreign women in romance scam chats and convince victims to invest in the cryptocurrency investment scam by their employers.
"Once the Nigerians are able to gain the trust of potential victims, the foreigners take over the actual task of defrauding the victims and proceed to block their Nigerian associates from the network. This then leaves them in the dark about the transaction."
However, he said that the Nigerians involved in the alleged fraudulent activity "do not know the owners of the 'company' they work for because they do not receive appointment letters or payments from a company account."
According to him, the suspected Nigerian accomplices are usually paid in cash or through an individual's account. Olukoyede said the Commission was working with its aforementioned partners to determine the scale of the fraud and accomplices, as well as the possibility of any collaboration with organized international fraud cells.
The EFCC chairman also used the opportunity to debunk the notion that Nigerians are behind thousands of frauds emanating from the country.
"Foreigners are taking advantage of the unfortunate reputation of our country as a haven for fraud to settle here to hide their cruel criminal enterprises. But as this operation has shown, there will be no place for criminals in Nigeria ", he said.
Also speaking on the occasion, the Acting Zonal Director of the Zonal Directorate of the Commission in Lagos, Michael Wetkas, called for greater cooperation with the media in the fight against corruption and economic and financial crimes. Items recovered from the suspects include desktop computers, cell phones, laptops and cars at the time of the arrest.
The suspects will be brought to justice after investigations are completed.
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