The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of 431 mobile phones allegedly linked to a large-scale cyber-fraud network involving Chinese nationals and Nigerian youths in Lagos.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos granted the application on September 29, 2026, ordering that the devices be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The case, marked FHC/LAG/MISC/990/2026, was instituted as an action in rem, meaning the proceedings were directed principally at the properties sought to be forfeited.
The EFCC, through its counsel, Hanatu Kofarnaisa, relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
In an affidavit supporting the application, EFCC investigator Christopher Augustine alleged that the phones were connected to an elaborate cybercrime operation allegedly coordinated by foreign nationals and Nigerian recruits from a facility known as “HK” in Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to the Commission, the facility contained about 500 laptops and 400 mobile phones, alongside telecommunications cards allegedly deployed for romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud and fraudulent investment schemes.
The EFCC alleged that Nigerian youths were recruited online, brought into the facility and trained by foreign nationals to engage victims through phishing, social media and other online communications.
The Commission further alleged that the operation targeted victims in the United States, Canada, Mexico and several European countries, with fraudsters allegedly posing as romantic partners or business and investment advisers.
The EFCC said a sting operation carried out on December 10, 2024 resulted in the arrest of more than 700 persons, including approximately 500 Nigerians, 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two persons identified in the affidavit as “Kharzartan” and one Pakistani national.
The Commission also alleged that Genting International Company Limited (GICL) was incorporated in 2024 and controlled by Chinese national Huang Haoyu, popularly known as Ken, and other alleged foreign collaborators.
According to the EFCC, GICL had approximately 200 Chinese nationals who allegedly functioned as recruiters and supervisors of Nigerian youths involved in the operation.
The Commission alleged that the recruits were given WhatsApp accounts connected to foreign telephone numbers, including German and Italian numbers, which were allegedly used to cultivate relationships with victims and lure them into purported investment opportunities.
The EFCC said victims were allegedly directed to an online platform identified as “yooto.com”, where activation fees reportedly started from $35.
More seriously, the Commission alleged that an account linked to Huang received more than ₦3.4 billion, which it described as proceeds of the alleged unlawful activities.
The EFCC further alleged that Huang and GICL purchased mobile phones for Nigerian recruits and that several gadgets recovered during the investigation were used in perpetrating the alleged cyber-fraud activities.
Following the investigation, the Commission said it filed a seven-count charge on March 7, 2025, against Huang, GICL and other foreign nationals over alleged cyber terrorism, possession of fraudulent documents, failure to declare activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), illegal foreign exchange transactions and money laundering.
The EFCC said Huang and GICL pleaded guilty to the charges and were subsequently convicted and sentenced by the court.
The Commission later said it discovered an additional 431 mobile phones allegedly connected to the convicted persons and suspected to have been deployed in the fraudulent operation.
It subsequently obtained an interim forfeiture order on July 8, 2026, with the court directing the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow anyone with an interest in the properties to appear and show cause why the phones should not be permanently forfeited.
The EFCC said it complied by publishing the order in The Guardian newspaper on August 11, 2026.
After the statutory period elapsed without a successful challenge to the interim order, the Commission returned to court seeking final forfeiture.
In its submission, the EFCC argued that Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act empowers the court to forfeit property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
The Commission stressed that the proceedings were non-conviction-based forfeiture proceedings, meaning the forfeiture of the property did not depend on obtaining a fresh criminal conviction in respect of the 431 phones.
Justice Dipeolu, after hearing the EFCC’s application, granted the motion and ordered the final forfeiture of all 431 mobile phones to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The ruling effectively concludes the interim forfeiture process over the devices, which the EFCC linked to what it described as a sophisticated international cyber-fraud network allegedly operating from Lagos.
