The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission an interim forfeiture order for 73 properties and several gadgets, including 1,596 linked to cybercrime and money laundering, involving Chinese suspects.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu issued the order on April 23, 2025, in a suit marked FHC/L/MISC/382/2025, following an ex parte motion filed by EFCC counsel B.M. Isah against Genting International Co.
The forfeited items include 1,596 computers/laptops, 4,091 mobile phones, 350 foreign SIM cards, and 3,399 Nigerian SIM cards from various providers, including 1,122 MTN, 316 9mobile, 1,277 Airtel, and 684 Glo.
Also included are 194 routers, 205 sofas, 501 double-step bunks, 754 mattresses, 40 refrigerators, 10 microwaves, and two whiteboards.
Additional items include 16 inverter batteries, 14 inverters, 43 CPUs/monitors, a ring light, two fuel tanks, a transformer, seven vehicles, 411 deep freezers, 13 electric kettles, 21 UPS units, a toaster, an air fryer, 558 office tables, two TVs, a network server, six gas cylinders, a blender, three weight scales, a spiral dough mixer, two double-burner stoves, and a dining set.
The EFCC filed the application under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, seeking an interim forfeiture of the properties.
Justice Dipeolu ruled: “I have read the motion and attachments and find sufficient merit in the application. Consequently, the motion succeeds and is hereby granted.”
The court also instructed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper and invited interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
EFCC investigator Kaina Garba stated in an 18-paragraph affidavit that the assets were seized during a sting operation on December 10, 2024, at No. 7 Oyinjolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos—allegedly the syndicate’s headquarters.
The EFCC had acted on intelligence that a syndicate, allegedly led by Chinese nationals operating under the name Genting International, was running a cybercrime training centre for Nigerian youths.
The recruits were assigned computers and specially configured mobile phone lines to carry out romance, dating, and investment scams.
Additional properties linked to the group were uncovered at No. 14 Modupe Alakija Crescent, Ikoyi; Plot 1220 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island; and Plot No. 54A A.J. Marinho Drive, Victoria Island.
The EFCC arrested 761 suspects, both foreign and Nigerian, during the raid.
The syndicate’s alleged leaders and financiers remain at large but are being actively pursued.
Garba urged the court to grant the interim forfeiture in the public interest, citing the rising threat of cybercrime and money laundering in Nigeria.
