The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre (NPF-NCCC) says seven suspects have been arrested over alleged money laundering, business email compromise, sextortion, blackmail, romance scams and other internet-related offences.
NAN reports that Akaninyene Ezima, assistant
inspector-general of police (AIG) in charge of the centre, announced the
arrests on Wednesday at a news conference in Abuja.
Ezima said one of the suspects was arrested after the German
Federal Police, known as the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), requested the
preservation of data associated with an internet protocol (IP) address
allegedly used in a sophisticated business email compromise operation.
The AIG said the investigation, codenamed “Operation Broken
Mask”, was conducted in collaboration with the BKA and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) under the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.
According to him, the suspect was arrested on July 20 at his
residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, Lagos, after investigative processes
linked him to the alleged scheme.
Ezima said forensic examination of devices recovered from
the suspect’s residence revealed more than 12.5 million email logs belonging to
victims in over 50 countries.
He said the suspect’s bank verification number (BVN) was
linked to accounts with six financial institutions and fintech platforms, while
a Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43 allegedly purchased with proceeds of crime was also
recovered.
The police chief said the suspect allegedly used phishing
kits obtained through Telegram to compromise the Microsoft 365 credentials of
employees at targeted companies.
Ezima said the suspect allegedly made more than N100 million
from the operation.
“The suspect’s bank verification number was linked to
accounts maintained with six financial institutions and fintech platforms,
including Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and
PalmPay,” he said.
The AIG also disclosed that the centre arrested a technology
company owner over alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and
money laundering.
He said the suspect was arrested following a petition filed
by Ugwu Francisca & Co. on behalf of Elizabeth and Prince Iruaregbon.
According to Ezima, the petition alleged that the
complainants lost N56.3 million after they were induced to invest in a
WhatsApp-based stock trading platform that promised high returns.
He said the investigation traced the funds to accounts
operated by entities allegedly linked to the syndicate.
Ezima said the suspect’s technology company allegedly served
as a channel for converting proceeds of the fraud.
He said an examination of the company’s account with Save
Heaven Microfinance Bank showed terminal cash-out inflows and outflows of N3.2
billion between October 30, 2025, and May 31, 2026.
The AIG added that investigators found that about N3.6
billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted to Tether (USDT)
stablecoins through Bybit peer-to-peer transactions.
He said the suspect was arrested on August 13 in Agiliti,
Lagos, and allegedly admitted to owning Kestart Technology and engaging in
peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading on Bybit.
Ezima further said two suspects were arrested in Anambra
over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related
fraud.
He said the investigation followed a complaint by Faruk
Yabo, permanent secretary at the federal ministry of solid minerals
development, who alleged that an individual was impersonating him on WhatsApp
and Facebook.
According to him, the suspects were arrested on August 4
following technical intelligence and other investigative activities.
He said police recovered 24 registered and 33 unregistered
MTN SIM cards, 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards, as well as
an MTN toolkit.
Ezima said one of the suspects admitted to buying and
selling registered and unregistered SIM cards and creating a social media
account in the identity of a United Kingdom (UK) citizen, which was allegedly
used to defraud people in India.
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