The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged 11 Chinese nationals before the Federal High Court in Lagos on charges of cyber fraud, possession of fraudulent documents, identity theft, and an alleged attempt to destabilize Nigeria’s constitutional structure.
The defendants, identified as Wang Xiong Wei (alias Xiao Bai), Chen Dong Dong (alias Cun Zhao), Chen Yuan (alias Xiao Doa), Wu Yuan An (alias Zeng Niu), Wang Gong Lin (alias Wang Jing Lin), and Weng Mao Rong (alias A Xiang), pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
Their arraignment follows a similar case on Monday, where 42 Chinese and Filipino nationals were charged with cyber-related offenses in the same court.
According to the EFCC, the accused were arrested during an operation codenamed “Eagle Flush” on December 19, 2024, in Lagos. The commission alleged that they recruited Nigerian youths for identity theft and cyber fraud schemes, posing as foreign nationals to scam unsuspecting victims.
Also, five other Chinese nationals; Liu Ke Fan (alias Lina, Lui Chen), Huang Hai Tao, Zhang Jian Feng, Wu A Wang, and Xiao Xin were charged separately in relation to similar charges. One of them, Liu Ke Fan, was accused by the EFCC of impersonating a 28-year-old American named Lina who lives in Germany in a cryptocurrency fraud and romance scam.
Liu Ke Fan was accused by EFCC prosecutors, M.K. Bashir and R.A. Abdulrasheed for “fraudulently impersonated a U.S. citizen using a fake profile on his company’s Maya desktop computer with intent to gain advantage for him and his fraudulent criminal syndicate group.” The EFCC also alleged that the defendants were part of a cybercrime syndicate comprising 792 individuals who engage in investment fraud and online scams to which the accused pleaded not guilty to these charges.
They also stated that the accused individuals “willfully accessed computer systems with the intent to destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional structure by procuring and employing Nigerian youths for identity theft, falsely representing them as foreign nationals to gain financial advantage.” and for “willfully providing false information to EFCC officers during investigations into their alleged cyber fraud activities.”
The agency reiterated that their actions violates Sections 18 and 27 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), and Section 39(2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and requested their detention at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending trial
The case was adjourned by the presiding judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke case to February 21 and March 7, 2025 after which he ordered their remand at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.