The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has raised concerns about the increasing presence of organized foreign fraud syndicates establishing cells in Nigerian cities.
While receiving participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC 18) from the National Institute for Security Studies, led by Director of Studies Hyginus Ngele, Olukoyede revealed that these criminal groups are recruiting young Nigerians into serious organized cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, issued a statement on Wednesday detailing Olukoyede’s remarks. “A concerning new trend is the discovery that organized foreign fraud syndicates are setting up operations in Nigerian cities, recruiting young Nigerians into sophisticated cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” Olukoyede stated.
He further explained that these syndicates are also increasingly involved in the illegal importation of arms into Nigeria, using cryptocurrency as a means of payment. “This is an area of growing concern for us all,” Olukoyede said.
In a recent special operation in Lagos, the EFCC arrested 194 foreign nationals, including Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, and Tunisians, in a single building in the heart of Victoria Island. Olukoyede pointed out that many of these individuals did not possess valid visas, and their financial activities were largely conducted through cryptocurrency.
Additionally, the EFCC discovered that some of the arrested foreigners had criminal records in their home countries, with some being ex-convicts who had escaped and sought refuge in African nations, including Nigeria. Olukoyede confirmed that investigations indicate these foreign syndicates are also establishing cells in other African countries.
