The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned four Chinese before Justices M. Kakaki and Ayokunle Faji, of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos for crimes such as cyber-terrorism and Internet fraud.
The individuals, arraigned on Tuesday, were part of the 792 members arrested by EFCC in December for cryptocurrency and romance fraud. The EFCC ambush, tagged the “Eagle Flush Operation”, was recorded as the agency’s highest-ever raid.
Three of the defendants, Xia Guang Can, Li Xu Xin, and Zhang Xue Hui were arraigned on one charge before Justice Kakaki while Lu Yubo was arraigned on a two-count charge before Justice Faji.
The charge counts range from internet fraud to cyber-terrorism, possession of documents containing pretence, advance fee fraud, and identity theft.
The charge against Hui reads as below:
“That you, ZHANG XUE HUI sometime in December 2024 at Lagos within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court cause to be accessed a computer system used for the purpose of destabilizing and destroying the economy and social structure of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable) under Section 18(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act 2015“.
Yubo, who was arraigned on three charge counts, saw one of them read as:
“That you, Lu Yubo and Genting International Co. Limited, adult, on or about the 11th December 2024 at No.7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, willfully caused to be accessed, a computer system which was organized to seriously destabilize the economic and social structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by procuring and employing several Nigerian youths for identity theft and other computer related fraud, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention, etc.) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2015 (as amended).”
Afterwards, all four pleaded “not guilty” to the charge counts, prompting prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum and Ahmed Yerima to request a trial date.
They also asked that the defendants be remanded at a correctional centre, while counsel for the defendants prayed for a short adjournment to file their bail applications.
Justice Kakaki adjourned till March 18, 2025, for trial, while Justice Faji adjourned till March 31 and April 3, 2025 for trial. Both ordered the suspects to be remanded in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
A recount of EFCC’s largest raid
The EFCC on December 10, 2024, arrested 792 suspects for their alleged crimes of cryptocurrency investment fraud and online romance scams. The suspects comprise 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian while the rest are Nigerians.
The EFCC after the raid described the operation as the largest in a day for the agency and tagged it as a “landmark raid.”
The suspects were arrested following a tip-off and verified intelligence received, where they operate in a seven-story edifice known as Big Leaf Building, on No.7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to the EFCC Boss, the foreigners trained their Nigerian accomplices in how to dazzle around investment and romance scams while using the Nigerians’ identities as a cover-up. The suspects also carefully selected their hideout, as it could be easily mistaken for the corporate headquarters of a financial establishment.
Recounting the seized items, the agency identified that all the floors were equipped with high-end desktop computers. About 500 SIM cards of local telcos used for criminal activities were found on the building’s third floor. Other items recovered at the point of arrest include desktop computers, mobile phones, laptop computers, and cars.
Technext earlier reported that a Nigerian job seeker, Jacob Lilian, narrated how her quest for employment at Genting International Co. Limited led her into an alleged internet fraud orchestrated by a Chinese employer, Ling Yang, alias Shoa Ming.
Lilian was the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the case involving Ling Yang, a Chinese national accused of being part of a 792-member syndicate.
The EFCC is prosecuting Yang and Genting International Co. Limited on a four-count charge ranging from cybercrimes and cyber-terrorism to impersonation, possession of forged documents, and identity theft, acts punishable under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.
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