Seven Chinese nationals bag jail terms for internet fraud, cyberterrorism in Nigeria

A federal high court in Lagos, Nigeria, convicted and sentenced seven Chinese nationals to one year in prison each for their involvement in cyberterrorism and internet fraud linked to a big Ponzi scheme that was uncovered in December 2024.

The convicts, Peng Li Huan, Zhang Jin Rong, He Kun, Rachelle Cabalona, Caselyn Pionela, Guo Long Long, and Zhang Hua Zhai, were arrested in a raid carried out by the EFCC on a building located at Oyin Jolayemi Street, where over 700 suspects tied to their illicit operations were apprehended.

The suspects were then arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate on separate one-count charges bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud.

Court Jails 15 Chinese, 2 Filipinos, 1 Pakistani for Cyberterrorism, Internet Fraud in Lagos
 
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday June 19 and Friday, June 20, 2025, secured the conviction and sentence of 15 Chinese,… pic.twitter.com/3Kf0IeYmfp

— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) June 20, 2025

Nigerian court arraigns suspects for internet fraud

The suspects were arraigned separately by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), before Justice Ayokunle Faji, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, and Justin Yellim Bogoro. During the proceedings, the EFCC legal counsel team, led by Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, Banjo Temitope, and Chineye Okezie, informed the justices that the defendants already entered into plea bargain agreements, which were filed on June 20.

Upon the arraignment, the defendants pleaded guilty and confirmed that they voluntarily consented to the plea bargain.

Following the development, the court convicted and sentenced each of the suspects to one year in prison and a fine of one million naira (approximately $645). The court also ordered that after the completion of their prison terms, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) should ensure that each of them is deported to their home countries within seven days.

The one-count charge in court read that convicts in December 2024, “willfully accessed computer systems organized to destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria by recruiting Nigerian youths to commit identity theft and impersonate foreign nationals for financial gain”.

The offense is punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.

According to the EFCC, the suspects were apprehended on December 10, 2024, after a surprise operation at their hideout in Victoria Island. During the media briefing, the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede said the suspects used the building as a headquarters to lure and train their Nigerian accomplices on how to carry out romance scams and other related criminal activities.

“Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and several others from European countries,” he said.

Giving a detailed look into their operation, the EFCC Chairman said that they provided their Nigerian accomplices with WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers. He said they used the numbers to engage their victims in romantic conversations before pitching their phantom business and investment discussions to trick the victim into shopping at their online platform called yooto.com, “For those who show interest, activation fees for an account on the platform start from $35.

According to investigations, the group recruited young Nigerians according to their proficiency in the use of computers, especially typing skills. Those who pass are given computers or other mobile devices and are taken through two weeks of induction on how to impersonate foreign females in romance scam chat.

They also tricked their victims into investing in their employers’ crypto investment websites. The chairman added that once the Nigerians can gain the trust of their victims, the foreigners take over the chat and carry out the defrauding, blocking the Nigerians from the transactions.

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