7 Chinese Nationals Jailed for Cyberterrorism in Lagos as EFCC Arraigns Another Ponzi Kingpin Over Alleged ₦10 Billion Fraud

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In a decisive blow to cybercrime and financial fraud in Nigeria, the Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced seven Chinese nationals to one year imprisonment each for their involvement in a large-scale cyberterrorism and internet fraud operation linked to a sophisticated Ponzi scheme uncovered in December 2024.

The convicts were found guilty of operating a digital fraud ring that swindled Nigerians through fake investment platforms and crypto-trading scams, robbing hundreds of victims of billions of naira. They were arrested in a joint operation led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which recovered hard drives, laptops, and other digital evidence from the suspects’ base of operations.

Delivering judgement, the court ordered their immediate deportation upon completion of their sentences and the forfeiture of all crime-related materials to the Nigerian government. The sentencing marks one of the most high-profile international cybercrime convictions in Nigeria in recent years.

Meanwhile, in a separate but related case, the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC on Thursday, June 19, 2025, arraigned an alleged Ponzi scheme operator, Adonu Kingsley Ifeanyi, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Adonu is being prosecuted on a five-count charge of money laundering involving over ₦10 billion, allegedly obtained through fraudulent means under the guise of an online investment scheme.

One of the charges states that between June 4 and July 23, 2021, Adonu knowingly took possession of over ₦1.07 billion through a Fidelity Bank account registered under “http://S.Mobile Netzone Limited,” knowing it to be proceeds of illegal activity.

Adonu pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. The EFCC’s counsel, S.I. Suleiman, requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) custody pending trial. However, his defense lawyer, Chibuike Opara, appealed for him to be held in EFCC custody instead, pending the hearing of his bail application.

Justice Aneke rejected the plea and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, adjourning the case to July 4, 2025, for the bail hearing.

These developments underline the growing efforts by Nigerian authorities to clamp down on internet fraud, Ponzi operations, and digital theft that have plagued the nation’s financial landscape. Citizens have praised the bold legal actions, calling for even harsher punishments and faster prosecutions to deter future offenders.