Court remands 11 Chinese nationals, Filipino over ‘internet fraud’

The federal high court in Lagos has remanded 11 Chinese nationals and a Filipino at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri correctional centres over alleged internet fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the foreign nationals on Friday before Deinde Dipeolu, the presiding judge.

The charges against the foreigners include alleged cybercrimes, cyber terrorism, possession of documents with false information, and identity theft.

The foreigners pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“That you, LI YIN HUI and GENTING INTERNATIONAL CO. LIMITED, on or about the 18th of December 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed computer systems organised to seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of Nigeria (which prohibits and prevents cyber and related crimes) when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 and 27 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024),” the charge sheet reads.

“That you, LUO JIA YOU (AKA A. YOU) sometime in December 2024 at Lagos, Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, willfully gave false information to officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the course of investigation when you were being questioned for being part of a criminal syndicate group, specialized in Romance scam, cryptocurrency fraud, cyber terrorism amongst others; and in order to mislead them, you falsely represented your name as A. YOU and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 39(2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and punishable under Section 39(2) (b) of the same Act.”

“That you, LONG SHAO MING A.K.A LING YANG, sometime in December 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, with intent to defraud, had in your possession documents containing false pretence, wherein you held yourself out as ‘Linda Maureen,’ a citizen of the United States of America, which document you knew to be false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6 and punishable under 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, 2006.”

The defendants are Wang Zheng Ming, Li Yin Hui, Xian Hong Will, Zhang Xiao Lei, Long Zhao Ming, Guo Xiao Fei, Yang Sheng, Wang Zheng Feng, Chen Wenyuan, Liu San Hua, Luo Jia You, and Rheign Dela Vega.

The EFCC was represented in court by prosecution L.P. Aso, M.K. Bashir, T.J. Banjo, N.K. Ukoha, and B. Buhari-Bala.

After the defendants took their pleas, the prosecution counsel asked the court for trial dates and prayed that the defendants be remanded.

The judge adjourned the matter to February 7, 14, and 21 for trial and remanded the defendants at the correctional centres.

The defendants were among the 792 suspects arrested in Lagos by the EFCC operatives in December 2024.

The arrest was the largest single-day operation against cryptocurrency and romance scam networks by the anti-corruption agency.

The suspects were arrested at a seven-storey building in Victoria Island, Lagos.