Nigeria and other African nations have arrested and deported hundreds of Chinese nationals operating corporate-style cybercriminal syndicates. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION
Since early 2025, Nigerian authorities have arrested hundreds of Chinese nationals linked to cybercrime syndicates operating across the country. In August alone, Nigeria deported more than 100 people—60 of them Chinese nationals—after convictions for cyberterrorism and internet fraud.
Most of those convicted were involved in online romance scams designed to lure victims into investing in fake cryptocurrency schemes, according to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Following additional arrests in February, the agency said it was intensifying its efforts and working with international partners to dismantle cybercrime networks.
EFCC officials have argued in court that cybercrime poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic stability and social fabric. In recent years, dozens of Chinese nationals have been deported or imprisoned across Africa as similar criminal operations have spread throughout the continent.
In 2024, Angolan authorities arrested 46 Chinese nationals who were running an illegal online casino from a hotel in Luanda, targeting gamblers in Nigeria and Brazil. A year earlier, Namibia arrested nine Chinese nationals among 14 suspects accused of operating a “pig-butchering” scam that used fake identities to deceive victims into buying fraudulent cryptocurrency. The suspects also faced charges of money laundering and human trafficking. Zambia likewise dismantled what it described as a sophisticated internet fraud syndicate involving 22 Chinese nationals who targeted victims in Peru, Singapore, several African countries and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite these cases, Nigeria remains the epicenter of Chinese-led cybercrime operations in Africa. In raids carried out in Abuja and Lagos in late 2024 and early 2025, authorities arrested nearly 1,000 suspects, including 177 Chinese nationals.
Nigeria’s ongoing economic challenges—marked by inflation exceeding 30%, rising unemployment and growing public debt—have complicated efforts to combat online crime and build public trust, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2025 Nigeria Budget and Economic Outlook.
Authorities say the dismantled cybercrime operations were corporate in scale, with offices containing rows of computers, thousands of SIM cards and structured training programs for Nigerians recruited to carry out scams.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that Africa has become a refuge for Chinese and other cybercriminals displaced by crackdowns in Southeast Asia. Interpol echoed these concerns in its Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2025, noting that two-thirds of African member states reported cybercrime accounting for a medium to high share of overall crime. In West and East Africa, cyber offenses made up roughly 30% of all reported crimes.
Interpol also warned that widespread smartphone use, weak legal frameworks, limited cybersecurity investment and low digital literacy have increased vulnerability across the continent, particularly as mobile banking expands. Scammers frequently rely on social engineering tactics to trick victims into revealing passwords or sending emergency funds.
After major raids in late 2024 that led to the arrest of 148 Chinese nationals, EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said the operations demonstrated Nigeria’s resolve to confront cybercrime.
“Foreigners are exploiting our country’s unfortunate reputation as a fraud haven to establish a base for their criminal enterprises,” Olukoyede said.