The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sent out a warning concerning foreign cryptocurrency fraudsters drafting young Nigerians into their dubious activities.
This warning was sent out by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyode, on Wednesday while addressing participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 18 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) in Abuja.
He explained that these fraudsters are establishing hide-outs in major cities across the country, penetrating communities and establishing relationships with young Nigerians.
“Another dimension that is not given attention is the discovery, recently, that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into serious organised cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” Olukoyode said.
He went on to reveal that the commission has arrested over a hundred foreign cryptocurrency fraudsters in the country, explaining that some of them did not possess valid visas to stay in the country.
“In the special operations we carried out in Lagos recently, we arrested 194 foreigners in the heart of Victoria Island. One hundred and ninety-four of them, Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, Tunisians, and the like, were in one building at a time. Some of them don’t even have valid visas, and most of the financial activities they carried out were through cryptocurrency,” he explained.
He said some of the foreigners arrested were already ex-convicts in their countries. They have been convicted and escaped from their countries, finding safe haven in Africa, not only Nigeria. He said the commission also discovered, through its investigations, that they are also developing cells in other African countries.
This revelation is coming in the wake of the EFCC’s arraignment of 17 Chinese nationals last Friday before Justice Musa Kakaki and Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos. They were arrested on the charges of alleged crypto fraud and related offences.
Crypto as payment for illegal firearms
Still addressing vices associated with cryptocurrency, the commission also revealed that virtual currencies are being used as a means of payment for the importation of illegal arms into Nigeria.
While speaking on the issue Olukoyede said this development is another security issue everybody must take seriously.
“We are beginning to see the likelihood and propensity that many people are into the illegal importation of arms into the country using cryptocurrency as a means of payment. This is an area that must interest all of us,” he said.
He expressed astonishment that bandits and insurgents have managed to sustain their operations over the years, stressing that the continuous flow of small arms and light weapons across borders, coupled with non-state actors’ involvement in the illegal exploitation of minerals, only intensifies security threats.
Meanwhile, the EFCC estimated that fraudulent crypto trading has resulted in losses amounting to N3.4 billion. The agency added that it has made significant financial recoveries, tracing and recovering nearly N250 billion in cash, millions of dollars in foreign currencies, and various real estate properties.
In its efforts to curb cyber-attacks, the EFCC had recently urged the Nigerian government to approve a 300 per cent increase in its annual budget. The agency said that the fund injection would help to strengthen efforts against escalating financial crimes, particularly cybercrime and cryptocurrency fraud, which have caused substantial financial losses across the country.
To this end, the EFCC Chairman has called for joint efforts at both national and continental levels to fight against the threats of internet fraudsters. “All security, intelligence, and law enforcement organizations in Nigeria and indeed Africa must close ranks in dealing with this challenge,” he emphasized.
Crypto fraud and international collaborations
Recently a Nigerian lost $225,000 in a romance cryptocurrency fraud. He, however, recovered the money in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The three-year international investigation involved a $335,000 fraud incident by Omonkhoa Precious Afure, a Nigerian national who defrauded the victim in 2021.
According to the Toronto authorities, the fraud occurred in June 2021 when the victim began communicating on Facebook with a man named “Moshe Theodor McNigh.” The Canadian agency, in its statement, highlighted the significance of the collaborative efforts between the two authorities, which resulted in recovering a greater part of the funds.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its 2023, Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, expressed that the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 69,000 complaints from the public regarding cyber-enabled crime and financial fraud involving the use of cryptocurrency, with over $5.6 billion in reported losses.
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