The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has started deporting foreign nationals convicted of cybercrime and Ponzi scheme offences.
On Sunday, August 17, 2025, 42 Chinese and Philippine nationals were deported. They were part of 192 foreigners recently convicted by the Federal High Court in Lagos. The remaining 150 convicts will be sent back to their countries in batches on Monday and Tuesday.
The convicts were among 759 suspects arrested in December 2024 during a raid on a building in Victoria Island, Lagos. Investigations showed they were running a large cyber fraud syndicate under the name Genting International Co. Limited.
The group was accused of defrauding people using fake online identities, running Ponzi schemes, and training recruits in impersonation tactics. Records showed the syndicate received over ₦2.2 billion between April and December 2024.
Each convict was sentenced to one year in prison after entering a plea bargain with the EFCC, and fined ₦1 million. The court also ordered their deportation within seven days of completing their jail terms.
In July, the EFCC secured a court order for the forfeiture of $222,729 in digital assets seized from some of the convicts.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, described the deportation as a major step in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime, stressing that the Commission would continue to pursue such cases to protect the country’s image and economy.
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