South Africa to extradite six Nigerians wanted in US romance scam

South Africa will extradite six Nigerian nationals to the United States on Friday over allegations that they defrauded victims of more than $6 million through a sophisticated online romance scam, police have said.

The suspects are accused of belonging to an organised criminal network known as Black Axe and are wanted by US authorities over charges including wire fraud and money laundering, according to South Africa’s elite police unit, Hawks.

The men were arrested in South Africa in 2021 following a major crackdown after allegedly targeting “more than 100 women in the United States, allegedly defrauding them of more than R100 million ($6.2 million) through online romance or love scams”, the Hawks said.

“Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships used to defraud them of their money,” Hawks spokeswoman Colonel Katlego Mogale said.

Mogale said the suspects would be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US State Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport on Friday.

Online romance scams have increasingly become a form of transnational cybercrime, with fraudsters creating fake identities on dating websites and social media platforms to gain the trust of victims before persuading them to send money.

In 2022, Nigerian Instagram influencer Ramon Abbas was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in the United States for his involvement in an international fraud syndicate.