Nigerian law enforcement agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has broken a major crypto crime ring with hundreds of potential criminals. Among them, 53 have been formally indicted.
Police only recovered about $200,000 on assets, but have identified nearly $3 million in various other deposits. Given the global spread of crime, it is unknown how much money this operation has made in total, or where these assets have been washed.
EFCC destroys crypto criminals
Reports show that these scammers performed several different operations, all of which were under the broad umbrella of crypto crime. These suspects were arrested last December on 739 other members, all arrested without guilty.
“On February 3, 2025, the EFCC’s Lagoszone Bureau was arrested before separate federal high courts sitting in Ikoi, Lagos (53 defendants). They were found to have been suspected of cybercrime, and cyber. He was arrested for another charge of terrorism, impersonation, possession of documents containing false pretenses and identity theft.”
Last year, Nigeria gained international notoriety for its toughness in code crime, and the EFCC maintains its reputation. Specifically, the country arrested two vinanence executives for suspicious trading activities, causing a diplomatic incident with the United States. Ultimately, it deleted the charges, but only after a few months of negotiations.
Law enforcement reportedly only seized assets of more than $200,000. This may seem small compared to some of the major scams in the crypto market today, but the depth of the crime is still under investigation.
For example, over 500 local SIM cards, cell phones, laptops and several cars were seized from the seven-storey base of the Lagos syndicate.
The vast number of resources suggests that stolen amounts could potentially be billions. However, given the global spread of crime, it is difficult to track all the stolen assets.
The EFCC argued that these crypto criminals are very diverse and multinational corporations. It did not count Nigeria and included at least 792 members from over five countries. For nine months, they deposited $1.5 million in their bank accounts and sent $2.39 million into two washing machines using P2P transactions.
However, there could be dozens or hundreds of unknown companions whose funds are not tracked. The EFCC has condemned these code criminals for their activities that “result in destabilizing economic and social structures” in Nigeria. The reason is clear.
Still, their capture proves an encouraging point. Law enforcement agencies around the world are learning to pursue crypto criminals, and methods are improving. These groups cannot avoid capture forever.
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