They’re the Kingpins — CISLAC on 192 Fraud Arrests in Lagos

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the arrest of 192 foreign nationals accused of running a large-scale cryptocurrency investment and romance scam syndicate.

The EFCC carried out the operation on December 10, 2024, at a seven-storey building located in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Among those apprehended were 148 Chinese citizens, 40 Filipinos, two Kyrgyzstan nationals, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian. Investigators say the network allegedly recruited and trained Nigerian youths, using their identities as cover for the foreign ringleaders behind the scheme.

Reacting to the development, CISLAC’s Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, praised the EFCC for its professionalism and commitment.

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According to him, the arrests “demonstrate the Commission’s resolve to confront cybercrime at the highest levels and reveal that such crimes are frequently orchestrated by foreign actors who exploit vulnerable Nigerians.”

CISLAC described the breakthrough as a significant step in Nigeria’s cybercrime fight and stressed that the incident challenges the global narrative that unfairly paints Nigerians as the main drivers of online fraud.

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Rafsanjani further emphasized that the case exposes a transnational criminal structure, in which foreign masterminds manipulate young Nigerians, using them as disposable fronts for illicit operations.