LAGOS, Nigeria
Nigeria has concluded the court-ordered deportation of 192 convicted foreign nationals involved in large-scale online fraud, identity theft, and cyber-enabled Ponzi schemes, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed via its X handle, @officialEFCC.
The EFCC stated that the deportees, who included nationals from China, the Philippines, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Timor-Leste, were confirmed through investigation to be managing fraudulent digital platforms and training recruits to defraud victims both locally and internationally. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) carried out the repatriation in coordinated batches between August and mid-October 2025, in accordance with court directives and immigration procedures.
The final batch of 51 convicts, comprising 50 Chinese nationals and one Tunisian, departed Nigeria on October 16, 2025, bringing the total repatriation of the 192 individuals to a successful close. The EFCC, in collaboration with the NIS and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), completed the exercise for those sentenced for cyber-terrorism, internet fraud, and related financial crimes in Lagos.
This mass deportation followed the conviction of the offenders by the Federal High Court in Lagos. The entire legal process was initiated after a major sting operation conducted by the EFCC on December 10, 2024, at Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, which led to the arrest and successful prosecution of 759 suspects. The deportation process had commenced on Friday, August 15, 2025, with the first batch of 42 Chinese and Filipino convicts.
All the deported convicts were apprehended alongside their Nigerian accomplices, who are believed to be members of a sophisticated cybercrime and ponzi scheme syndicate operating under the cover of Genting International Co. Limited.
The deported individuals were convicted for crimes like cyber-terrorism, internet fraud, and Ponzi schemes, operating under the guise of a company, Genting International Co. Limited, that reportedly recruited Nigerians. In the weeks leading up to the final deportation batch, social media activist, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkBlackMan, VDM, was highly vocal about exposing a fraudulent practice involving the repackaging of old phones (like the iPhone XR) into fake new models (like the iPhone 17 Pro Max). He claimed to have traced this large-scale deception to factories and operators in China, positioning himself as a consumer advocate actively fighting these foreign-linked scams.
His efforts, which included a trip to China in early 2025, focused on helping to expose Nigerian and Chinese partners involved in similar fraudulent activities.
