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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of 431 mobile phones linked to Chinese nationals convicted of cyber-fraud offences in Lagos.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the permanent forfeiture of the devices to the Federal Government following an application by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC.
The commission, through its counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa, told the court that it had complied with an earlier order directing it to publish a notice of the interim forfeiture in a national newspaper to allow interested persons to challenge the application.
Kofarnaisa said the notice was published in The Guardian newspaper on August 11, 2026, but no individual or entity came forward to contest the forfeiture within the period stipulated by the court.
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the phones were recovered during investigations into a cyber-fraud operation allegedly involving Chinese and Nigerian youths at a facility known as “HK” in Victoria Island, Lagos.
An affidavit deposed to by an EFCC operative, Christopher Augustine, stated that the facility was allegedly used to train and deploy Nigerian youths and foreign nationals for romance, investment and cryptocurrency fraud targeting victims in the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
According to the affidavit, a sting operation conducted on December 10, 2024, resulted in the arrest of more than 700 persons, comprising about 500 Nigerians, 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos and other foreign nationals.
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The EFCC further linked Genting International Company Limited (GICL), allegedly controlled by Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, and other foreign nationals, to the operation.
Huang and GICL were subsequently charged with seven counts bordering on cyber-terrorism, possession of fraudulent documents, failure to declare activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), illegal foreign exchange transactions and money laundering.
The commission said the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and were subsequently convicted and sentenced by the court.
It argued that the 431 mobile phones were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and were therefore liable to forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
After considering the submissions of the EFCC and the affidavit evidence before it, Justice Dipeolu held that the application had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of the 431 phones to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
