Six Nigerians being extradited to US for swindling women out of $6M in romance scams六名尼日利亚男子因在爱情骗局中诈骗女性600万美元将被引渡到美国
Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of over $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of over $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and transported to the US to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe , which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.
According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the US, defrauding them of more than $6 million through online romance or love scams.
A stranger messaged him on Facebook. It was the start of a nightmare that cost him $280,000
Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships.
“Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning,” said police spokesperson Katlego Mogale.
A recent operation by Interpol targeting West African organized crime groups led to the arrest of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes, the multinational police body said last month.
The operation aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecution.
In South Africa , authorities raided seven locations in the city of Johannesburg linked to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.
In that operation in South Africa, police arrested 39 people, seized $2.67 million and froze more than 250 bank accounts, Interpol said.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
南非警方表示，与一个有组织犯罪网络有关的六名尼日利亚公民将于周五被引渡到美国。该网络涉嫌通过网络爱情骗局诈骗美国女性超过 600 万美元。
这几名男子于 2021 年在南非开普敦被捕，他们将于周五被移交给联邦调查局官员，并被送往美国面临电信欺诈和洗钱指控。
他们被指控隶属于一个名为“黑斧”的犯罪网络，国际刑警组织称该网络是全球网络金融诈骗犯罪集团的一部分，这些诈骗通常通过爱情骗局、加密货币骗局和投资骗局进行。
据南非警方称，这些男子涉嫌以美国 100 多名女性为目标，通过网络恋爱或爱情骗局诈骗她们超过 600 万美元。
一个陌生人在Facebook上给他发了条信息。这开启了一场噩梦，让他损失了28万美元。
据称，受害者包括退休人员和商人，他们被指控通过复杂的网络关系成为攻击目标。
警方发言人卡特莱戈·莫加莱表示：“在国际刑警组织南非分局的协调下，这六人今天将从开普敦的一处惩教设施被押送到开普敦国际机场，在那里他们将移交给今天早上抵达南非的美国联邦调查局和美国特勤局官员。”
国际刑警组织上个月表示，该组织最近针对西非有组织犯罪集团开展的一次行动，逮捕了 58 人，并确认了 263 名与参与类似犯罪的各种犯罪网络有关的嫌疑人。
此次行动旨在打击洗钱活动，识别高价值目标，查封资产，并支持逮捕和起诉。
在南非，当局突袭了约翰内斯堡市的七个地点，这些地点与一个犯罪集团有关，该集团针对英语国家的退休人员实施爱情和投资诈骗。
国际刑警组织称，在南非的那次行动中，警方逮捕了 39 人，缴获了 267 万美元，并冻结了 250 多个银行账户。