Cybercrime: Court sentences two Chinese directors to 92 years in prison

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Huang Haoyu (also known as Ken) and An Hongxu, directors of Genting International Co. Limited, to 46 years’ imprisonment each over their involvement in a multi-billion-naira cybercrime and money-laundering operation.

Justice Daniel Osiagor, who delivered the judgment, imposed an alternative fine of N56 million on each convict. He also ordered them to perform three days of community service and directed that they be repatriated to China after completing their sentences and the community service.

The two were among 792 suspects arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos in December 2024 in connection with alleged internet and cryptocurrency fraud.

A third defendant, Audu Friday, pleaded not guilty and will face trial.

During proceedings, defence counsel Bridget Omateno informed the court that Huang and An had opted to withdraw their initial not-guilty pleas and enter guilty pleas, requesting that the charges be read to them afresh. The court granted the request, and after the seven-count charge was re-read, the two pleaded guilty, while Friday maintained his innocence.

The EFCC prosecutor, Bilkisu Bala-Buhari, urged the court to convict the defendants based on their guilty pleas, noting that the prosecution had already called two witnesses before the change of plea. She added that some of the charges carried life imprisonment and others up to 14 years, and asked the court to impose the maximum penalty as a deterrent.

In his ruling, Justice Osiagor convicted the two men and sentenced each to a cumulative 46 years in prison, with the option of a N56 million fine. He further ordered that they be repatriated to their country of origin after serving their sentences and completing the community service.

The court also approved the forfeiture of assets recovered during the investigation to the Federal Government. Items forfeited include 1,596 mobile phones, 2,120 office chairs, 544 office tables, 194 routers, 43 computer systems, a network server, 126 air-conditioning units, generators, vehicles, hundreds of mattresses and bunk beds, thousands of SIM cards across various networks, and other electronic and household items. The items were recovered from several locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to the charges, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2024 to unlawfully access computer systems and recruit Nigerian youths to impersonate foreign nationals online for financial gain, actions said to threaten Nigeria’s economic and social stability, contrary to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended.

They were also accused of laundering proceeds of fraud, including retaining $1.262 million USDT in a Binance wallet and $1.300 million USDT in a Bybit wallet.

Prosecutors further alleged that between August and December 2024, the defendants retained N3.4 billion in Genting International’s Union Bank account, funds believed to be proceeds of illegal activities. They were also said to have transferred N913.9 million to an associate, Duliang Pan, who is currently at large, and N106.95 million to Lagos Oriental Hotel Limited.

Trial is expected to continue against Audu Friday and the company on separate charges related to unlawful foreign exchange transactions and failure to make statutory declarations to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering.