The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday arraigned 18 Chinese nationals and a company, Genting International Co. Ltd, before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The defendants were among 792 individuals arrested in Lagos in December 2024 for alleged cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud during an EFCC sting operation tagged ‘Eagle Flush Operation.’
They were arraigned on separate charges, including cybercrimes, cyber-terrorism, possession of documents containing false pretences, and identity theft.
One charge states: “That you, Mao Bu Yi and Genting International Co. Limited, in December 2024 in Lagos, wilfully accessed a computer system to destabilise and destroy Nigeria’s economy and social structure, committing an offence punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrime Act, 2015 (As Amended, 2024).”
Another charge alleges that one defendant falsely represented himself as ‘Kim Namjoo’ and as a woman, possessing fraudulent documents printed from a desktop computer, an offence under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
The defendants pleaded “not guilty” to all charges.
Following their pleas, the EFCC requested trial dates and for the defendants to be remanded in custody.
Justice Osiagor adjourned the case until 11th June 2025 for trial and ordered the defendants to be remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
