Crime & Justice

BREAKING: Two Chinese Directors Jailed 46 Years Each Over ₦3.4bn, $2.5m Crypto Fraud in Lagos

Published

7 months ago

February 11, 2026

Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals and directors of Genting International Co. Limited, Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, and An Hongxu, to a cumulative 46 years’ imprisonment each, with an option of a ₦56 million fine, over a multi-billion-naira cybercrime and money laundering scheme.

The court also ordered the convicts to undertake three days of community service and directed that they be repatriated to their country of origin after serving their sentences and completing the community service.

The two were among 792 suspected internet and cryptocurrency fraud suspects arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos in December 2024.

The second defendant, Audu Friday, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and will face trial.

At the resumption of trial on Wednesday, counsel to the first and second defendants, Ms Bridget Omateno, informed the court that the two directors had decided to change their pleas from not guilty to guilty.

She recalled that on the last adjourned date, the court had been informed that counsel on record had been debriefed.

Although there was no plea bargain agreement, she said the first and third defendants applied to change their pleas and urged the court to direct that the charges be read to them afresh.

When the charges were re-read by the registrar, Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu pleaded guilty to the seven-count charge filed against them, while Audu Friday maintained his plea of not guilty.

Prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, urged the court to convict the two men in view of their admission. Buhari-Bala noted that the prosecution had earlier called two witnesses before the change of plea.

She told the court that the offences in counts one and two attract life imprisonment, while counts three and four carry 14-year jail terms.

“I humbly pray Your Lordship to impose the maximum sentence on the convicts in order to serve as a deterrent to the public,” she submitted.

She also urged the court to order the forfeiture of all items recovered during the investigation, including those located on Oyin Jolayemi Street and Bishop Oluwole Street in Victoria Island, as well as any investments traced to the first and third defendants, to the Federal Government.

In his judgment, Justice Osiagor convicted Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu and sentenced them to a cumulative 46 years’ imprisonment each, with an option of a ₦56 million fine.

The court further ordered that they undertake three days of community service and be repatriated after serving their sentences and completing the community service.

Proceedings are expected to continue against Audu Friday, who maintained his innocence.

In addition to sentencing the two convicts, the court ordered the forfeiture of extensive assets recovered from multiple locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi to the Federal Government.

The items include 1,596 mobile phones, 2,120 office chairs, 544 office tables, 194 routers, 43 computer systems, a network server, 126 air-conditioning units, several generators and vehicles, hundreds of mattresses and bunk beds, thousands of SIM cards across different networks, and numerous other electronic devices and household items recovered from premises at No. 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island; Plot 1220 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island; 54A A.J. Marinho Drive, Victoria Island; and No. 14A Modupe Alakija Crescent, Ikoyi.

According to the charge, the defendants were accused of conspiring in 2024 to wilfully access computer systems organised to seriously destabilise the economic and social structure of Nigeria by procuring and employing Nigerian youths to falsely represent themselves as foreign nationals for financial gain, contrary to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.

They were also accused of procuring individuals to retain $1,262,000 USDT in a Binance wallet and $1,300,203 USDT in a Bybit wallet—sums they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity, namely fraud—contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The charge further alleged that between August and December 2024, they retained ₦3,407,824,740.78 in Genting International Co. Limited’s Union Bank account, funds believed to be proceeds of fraud.

They were also said to have transferred ₦913,922,740.29 to an account belonging to Duliang Pan, who is currently at large, and ₦106,950,000 to Lagos Oriental Hotel Limited.

Separate counts against Audu Friday and the company alleged unlawful foreign exchange transactions running into billions of naira, contrary to the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous (Provisions) Act, as well as failure to submit required declarations to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML).

Crime & Justice

Court Jails Fake Spiritualist for Sextortion in Abuja

Published

6 days ago

September 10, 2026

Staff Editor

Justice C.N. Nwabulu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, convicted and sentenced a fake spiritualist, Solomon Odigie Moses, to one year’s imprisonment.

Moses was arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on cheating and impersonating a spiritualist, thereby defrauding and obtaining the sum of $1,100 (One Thousand, One Hundred United States Dollars) from an Indian lady seeking spiritual healing.

Moses, who was arrested in Ekpoma, Edo State, received and laundered the $1,100 through his Zelle payment platform, after which the naira equivalent was paid into his local bank account.

The convict subsequently deceived the victim into taking a naked spiritual bath, which he recorded live without her permission, and thereafter blackmailed her, demanding that she send him money or he would make the video public.

Investigation by the EFCC revealed that the victim had to pay the sum of $1,100 to the suspect to prevail on him not to release the video of her nudity to the public.

The charge against him read: “That you, Solomon Odigie Moses (A.K.A. DR SOLOMON), sometime in 2026 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently impersonate a spiritual leader named Dr. Solomon on a fictitious TikTok account and obtained the sum of $1,100 (One Thousand, One Hundred Dollars) from an Indian lady by name Sharon Kaur, for the purpose of spiritual prayer and assistance, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Act (Abuja) LFN, 1990 and punishable under Section 322 of the same Act.”

He pleaded “guilty”, following which the prosecution counsel, Maryam Hayatudeen, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

In his ruling, Justice Nwabulu convicted and sentenced Moses to one year’s imprisonment with an option of a ₦300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine.

The judge further directed that the $1,100 proceeds of crime be forfeited to the victim through the EFCC.

Crime & Justice

Immigration Intercepts Two With ₦34m Allegedly Meant For Kidnap Ransom

Published

7 days ago

September 10, 2026

Staff Editor

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted two persons in Adamawa State with ₦34 million in cash, with the suspects allegedly linked to a kidnapping syndicate.

The suspects were intercepted with the cash during an operation in the state.

The Comptroller of Immigration Service, Sani Sule-Jega, disclosed this at a media briefing in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

According to him, preliminary investigations showed that the suspects claimed the money was intended to pay ransom for their abducted brother.

In a separate operation, the Adamawa State Command of the NIS also intercepted 17 irregular migrants at Rumde Baruw in Yola North Local Government Area of the state.

The undocumented migrants were intercepted at a private three-bedroom residence during an operation by officers of the command.

Sule-Jega said preliminary profiling showed that 13 of the migrants were Cameroonian nationals, comprising eight males and five females, while the remaining four were Chadian nationals, all males.

The Comptroller noted a shift in the accommodation pattern of undocumented migrants, particularly their increasing use of private and unregistered apartments instead of conventional lodging facilities such as hotels.

He said the service was intensifying surveillance and intelligence-led operations to identify and address emerging patterns of irregular migration in the state.

Sule-Jega reiterated the command’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity, improving migration management and strengthening border security.

He urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide credible information that could assist security agencies in maintaining peace and security across the state.

The suspects and recovered cash have been taken into custody for further investigation and necessary action in accordance with established procedures and applicable laws.

The Comptroller General of Immigration has directed that the suspects and exhibits be handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.

Crime & Justice

Court Adjourns KC Luxury’s Detention Challenge as NDLEA Says Bail Possible

Published

1 week ago

September 9, 2026

Staff Editor

Justice Friday Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday adjourned until September 21, 2026, the hearing of pending applications in the case involving detained businessman and social media influencer, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury.

The adjournment followed submissions by counsel to Kazeem, Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, SAN, and counsel to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abu Ibrahim, that the court should await the ruling of a sister court on an application challenging its jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

At the proceedings, Labi-Lawal told the court that although the NDLEA had obtained an order authorising it to keep Kazeem in custody for 30 days to conduct further investigations, the order did not expressly mandate that he remain detained throughout the entire period.

The senior lawyer further submitted that the NDLEA could release his client on bail if it was satisfied with the progress of its investigation.

The lawyer explained that Kazeem had challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to grant the detention order, adding that the application had already been argued and the parties were awaiting the court’s ruling.

He urged Justice Ogazi to adjourn the matter to enable the parties to respond to the processes already filed.

Labi-Lawal noted that the respondents had served their counter-affidavit on the applicant’s legal team and that the applicant had five days within which to respond.

Ibrahim, counsel to the NDLEA, did not oppose the application for adjournment but clarified that the 30-day remand order was obtained in August, before Kazeem subsequently approached the court seeking an order for his production.

Justice Ogazi consequently adjourned the matter until September 21 for further proceedings.

Kazeem, through his lawyers led by Labi-Lawal, is challenging the legality of the August 20, 2026, ex parte order authorising his detention for 30 days in the first instance for further investigation into allegations of drug trafficking.

In the application filed in Suit No. FHC/LAG/MISC/1199/2026, the defence is asking the court to set aside or discharge the order on the grounds that no criminal charge had been filed against Kazeem.

The lawyers argued that the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction to try offences under the NDLEA Act is distinct from its power to make a pre-charge remand order.

According to them, the fact that the Federal High Court has jurisdiction to try offences under the NDLEA Act does not automatically confer on it the power to remand an uncharged suspect merely to allow investigators more time to complete their investigation.

“The jurisdiction to try a person charged with an offence under the NDLEA Act is fundamentally different from the jurisdiction to remand a suspect who has not yet been charged,” the lawyers submitted.

The defence has also challenged the duration of the detention, arguing that the 30-day order is contrary to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

The lawyers relied on Sections 293 to 299 of the ACJA, which provide the statutory framework for pre-charge remand.

They specifically cited Section 296(1), which provides that an initial remand order shall be for a period not exceeding 14 days in the first instance.

The defence argued that the use of the words “shall,” “not exceeding” and “in the first instance” leaves no discretion for a court to substitute 30 days for the statutory maximum of 14 days.

They argued that where investigators require additional time to keep a suspect in custody, the law requires further judicial scrutiny rather than permitting a single, uninterrupted 30-day detention order.

Kazeem’s lawyers have also asked the court to abridge the time for hearing the application and bring forward the September 17 date earlier fixed for the review of the detention order.

They argued that allowing the detention to continue could amount to an ongoing infringement of Kazeem’s constitutional right to personal liberty and render his challenge to the detention order nugatory.