Court Jails 18 Foreigners For Cybercrime, Orders Deportation

Two judges of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, in separate judgments, convicted and sentenced 18 foreigners to one year in prison each for their involvement in cybercrime, fraud, impersonation, and attempts to destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional structure.

The judges, Justices Chukwujekwu Aneke and Yellim Bogoro jailed the foreigners after they changed their initial not-guilty pleas to guilty as part of a plea bargain agreement they entered into with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Under the plea agreement, the convicts were sentenced to one year in prison retroactive to their arrest on December 10, 2024.

The court also ordered the convicts to pay a fine of N1 million each. Upon completing their sentences and paying their fines, they will be deported within seven days.

The judges also ordered the final forfeiture of all their mobile phones, laptops, and routers used to commit crimes to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The convicts were among 193 foreign nationals arrested by some operatives of the EFCC in December 2024 at a seven-storey building on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The anti-graft agency had arrested 792 suspects during the operation, which was described as the biggest in its history in connection with a global cybercrime and cryptocurrency fraud syndicate.

For his part, Justice Aneke sentenced six defendants—Eliza Gapparova, Diana Kadyrbekova, Nasrine Chouaieb, Jiang Han Hua, Liao Zhang, and Genting International Co. Limited—on charges of cyberterrorism, identity theft, and enlisting Nigerian youths to impersonate foreign nationals for financial gain.

These verdicts were handed down following the plea bargain agreement between the prosecution, led by Zeinat Atiku, and defence lawyers Osuala Nwafbara, Z.S. Makinde, and Peter Taiwo.

Justice Bogoro similarly sentenced 12 Philippine nationals—Jean Calatar Maunfo, Donne Reges, Roseann Gonzales, Mary Grace Dela Piazza Camara, Lari Jane Tayae, Jonilyn Agulto, Jonalyn Mendoza, Anjeannet Topacio, and Arramef Topacio—under the same terms.

The judge jailed the convicts after listening to arguments presented by the prosecutors Hanatu Kofanaisa and Temitope Banjo, while Bridget Omateno represented the defence.

According to the EFCC, the convicts were part of an international syndicate operating a fraudulent network known as “HK.”

The operation reportedly utilised over 1,500 laptops and 4,000 phones, training both Nigerian and foreign youths in romance and investment scams targeting victims in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

Genting International Company Limited, allegedly controlled by the syndicate’s leaders, was incorporated in mid-2024 and employed 200 Chinese nationals to recruit and supervise Nigerian youths involved in the scams.

The EFCC had informed the court that the suspects operated from the Victoria Island facility, disguised as a corporate financial headquarters, and used Nigerian VPNs to mask their activities.

The scams were executed through platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and a fake investment website, which charged victims fees starting from $35.

One defendant’s account allegedly received over N3.4 billion in fraudulent proceeds.