Photos: EFCC Bursts Syndicate of 792 Crypto Fraud Suspects, Arrests 193 Chinese, Others in Lagos

• The EFCC has announced the arrest of 792 cryptocurrency and romance scammers in Lagos, which is the largest since its establishment
• Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesperson of the EFCC, stated that 114 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Khazartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian nationals were among the suspects
• The anti-graft agency also disclosed when it began to trail the suspect and finally found the building in which they operated from

Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has made a significant breakthrough in its fight against cryptocurrency and romance scams. In its largest single-day operation, the commission announced the arrest of 792 suspects in Lagos, including 114 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Khazartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian national.

The EFCC disclosed that the suspects were arrested in a seven-storey Victoria Island, Lagos building. It alleged that some foreigners were training Nigerians to engage in investment and romance scams. EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren explained that fake profile accounts were created for Nigerians to engage in cryptocurrency and investment scams.

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According to the anti-graft agency, the building was equipped with high-end desktop computers, and over 500 SIM cards from Nigerian telecommunications operators were recovered. The suspects allegedly targeted mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and several others from European countries through phishing and online scams.

The EFCC spokesperson revealed that the Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins and provided with logs to access foreign communication lines and victims. They were also assigned WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy. Their jobs were to engage victims in romantic conversations and phantom business and investment discussions to trick them into shopping on a purported online investment shopping platform called www.yooto.com

Uwujaren added that the EFCC has been working to disrupt the operations of these scammers, and this latest operation is a significant milestone in that effort. The suspects are currently being held in custody with valid remand warrants and will be arraigned soon. This operation demonstrates the EFCC's commitment to combating financial crimes and protecting Nigerians and foreigners from these scams.

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See the EFCC's statement here:

Yahaya Bello pleaded not guilty to EFCC's allegation

Legit.ng earlier reported that Yahaya Bello, the past governor of Kogi state, has pleaded not guilty to the fraud allegation levelled against him by the EFCC.

Bello is facing 19-count charges in a suit filed by the anti-graft agency before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The former governor's case is one of the high-profile cases that Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the EFCC, has vowed to prosecute to the end.

Source: Legit.ng