WorldStage Newsonline– Forty two citizens of China and Philippine convicted of cyber fraud, Ponzi schemes were on Sunday removed to their countries by the Nigerian Immigration Service
First batch of deportees departed Lagos at 2:00 p.m. local time, while others are scheduled to leave on Monday and Tuesday.
The Federal High Court in Lagos had sentenced the foreigners to one year imprisonment each after they entered plea bargain agreements with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court also imposed a fine of N1 million on each convict.
According to EFCC insider who craved anonymity, the first batch of deportees departed Lagos at 2:00 p.m. local time, while others are scheduled to leave on Monday and Tuesday.
The EFCC said the syndicate ran a large-scale cyber fraud and Ponzi scheme targeting victims abroad before it was dismantled in a joint operation.
Following their conviction, the foreigners were handed over to the NIS for deportation.
The insider further disclosed that the chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, thumbed up the convictions and deportations as “a milestone in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime.”
Olukoyede said the agency would intensify investigations, recover stolen funds, and restore national dignity in line with President Bola Tinubu’s anti-corruption agenda.
The convictions followed the December 2024 raid on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, during which 759 persons were arrested, including Nigerians, Chinese, Arabs, and Filipinos.
The Federal High Court in Lagos had previously ordered the final forfeiture of $222,729.86 worth of digital assets (USDT) traced to some of the convicted Chinese nationals.
The judge, Alexander Owoeye, ruling on an ex parte application filed by EFCC lawyer Zeenat Atiku on 18 July, held that the assets were proceeds of cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
Court documents showed that the syndicate operated through a Nigerian-registered company, Genting International Co. Limited, which maintained a Union Bank account that received over N2.26 billion between April and December 2024.
EFCC’s investigators revealed the funds flowed largely through cryptocurrency vendors.
