The Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced eight Chinese nationals to one year in prison each for cyberterrorism and internet fraud, in connection with a massive transnational cryptocurrency scam uncovered in December 2024.
The trial judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, handed down the sentence on Friday after the convicts — Pan Cai Qi, Zeng Xian Tao, Weng Mao Rong, Wang Xiong Wei (a.k.a. Xiao Bai), Shi Dong Fu, Wang Shi Long, Liu Ke Fan, and Ting Liao — changed their pleas from “not guilty” to “guilty”.
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In a statement on Friday, EFCC’s spokesperson Dele Oyewale, said they were among 792 suspects arrested during a sting operation tagged Eagle Flush, conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 19 December 2024 in Lagos.
The syndicate, the EFCC said, comprised foreign nationals and Nigerians involved in romance scams, identity theft, and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
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Each of the eight defendants was arraigned on separate charges of cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
One of the charges read, “That you, Pan Cai Qi, sometime in December 2024 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, willfully caused to be accessed a computer system for the purpose of destabilising and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).”
Following their change of plea, EFCC counsel M.K. Bashir urged the court to convict them accordingly.Mr Aneke sentenced each convict to one year imprisonment, with an option of a N1 million fine.
He also ordered that the convicts be repatriated to China by the Nigerian Immigration Service within seven days of completing their jail terms. All items recovered from them — including mobile phones, laptops, and other digital equipment — were forfeited to the Federal Government.
Previous sentences
The conviction is the latest in a series of prosecutions following the December raid.
In June, the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced 23 Chinese nationals to one year in prison for similar charges. The convicts, including Yu Hui (a.k.a. A. Bin), Huang Jin Hui, Fei Fan, Lu Qiang, Hu Xi Zheng, Sun Zhi Peng, and others, were arraigned before Justices D.E. Osiagor, D.I. Dipeolu, and A.O. Faji.
They had entered plea bargains and were each fined N1 million in addition to the custodial sentence.Earlier, seven other Chinese nationals — Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Guo Long Long, Zhang Hua Zhai — and two Filipinos — Rachelle Cabalona and Caselyn Pionela — were also sentenced to one year in prison by Justices Faji, Aneke, and Yellim Bogoro.
They too entered plea bargains and were ordered deported within seven days of serving their terms.
Likewise, twelve Filipino nationals were convicted by Mr Bogoro for cyberterrorism and fraud.
The convicts — including Anjeanette Topacio, Gladys Joy Mag-Iba, Shairah Mae Reyes, and others — were found guilty of accessing computer systems to recruit Nigerian youths for cyber fraud.
Each was sentenced to one year in prison and fined N1 million, with deportation orders issued upon sentence completion.
Ongoing trial of alleged masterminds
Meanwhile, the trial of four principal suspects believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate is ongoing before a judge, Daniel Osiagor.
The accused are Friday Audu, Huang Haoyu, An Hongxu, and Genting International Company Ltd.A compliance officer from Union Bank, Chidubem Ogbura, testified as the first prosecution witness.
He told the court that Mr Audu was a signatory to a corporate account allegedly used to launder billions of naira linked to the fraud scheme.
Led in evidence by EFCC prosecutor Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Mr Ogbura submitted account opening documents and transaction records, which the court admitted as exhibits.
Under cross-examination, he confirmed that the bank’s Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation did not suggest the account was opened for legitimate business.
Background
According to the EFCC, the December 2024 raid netted 792 suspects, including 158 foreign nationals.
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The agency said the syndicate had retained over $2.5 million in crypto wallets allegedly controlled by Nigerian and Chinese collaborators.
EFCC revealed that the group had engaged in unauthorised foreign exchange transactions exceeding B2 billion, in violation of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, Money Laundering Act, and the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.
So far, over fifty Chinese and Filipino nationals have been convicted in connection with the operation — one of the EFCC’s largest cybercrime busts to date.
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