LAGOS, NIGERIA — In a packed courtroom at the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, the sheer scale of one of Africa’s most sophisticated cybercrime networks was laid bare on Wednesday.
Rasheeda Chindaya, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), took the witness stand to provide a chilling account of how Friday Audu allegedly masterminded a transnational syndicate that led to the historic arrest of 792 individuals in late 2024.
Audu, alongside his firm, Genting International Ltd, is facing an eight-count charge including forgery, impersonation, and computer-related fraud.
What emerged from Chindaya’s testimony was not just a story of individual greed, but a highly industrialised ‘scam factory’ that blurred the lines between legitimate business and international crime.
The ₦34 Billion 'Gaming' Front
According to the EFCC’s investigation, Genting International Ltd was presented to the world as a gaming company.
However, behind the corporate facade lay a financial behemoth. Chindaya revealed that the company’s bank accounts, all linked to Audu’s Bank Verification Number (BVN), saw staggering inflows.
At its peak, the company held a balance of approximately ₦34 billion.
“Investigation revealed that Friday Audu was the sole signatory to these accounts,” Chindaya testified.
She detailed how Audu allegedly manipulated the company’s structure, replacing original directors with proxies and forging signatures to secure higher credit limits at major financial institutions.
The funds were not staying in naira for long; Chindaya explained that billions were routinely funnelled through Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to be converted into USDT (cryptocurrency), making the money harder to track as it moved through digital wallets.
A Factory for Fraud: 792 Arrests
The trial follows the unprecedented December 2024 raids, which saw 792 suspects taken into custody — a move so large that the EFCC had to convert its zonal offices into temporary holding cells.
The group comprised 193 foreigners — predominantly Chinese nationals linked to the notorious ‘Hunang’ syndicate, and 599 Nigerians.
The recruitment process, the witness said, was chillingly efficient, adding that Nigerian youths, mostly aged 27 and above, were recruited via social media.
The primary qualification? Fast typing skills. Once hired, they were housed in luxury properties across Victoria Island, Lekki, and Oniru, with salaries ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦800,000 monthly, the witness posited.
The Scam Scripts
The EFCC operative detailed a compartmentalised operation designed to keep low-level recruits in the dark.
* The Scammers: Assigned phones and Tinder profiles, these recruits used prepared scripts to lure victims into romance traps.
They were strictly forbidden from making voice calls, communicating only via text to maintain their personas.
* The Marketers: Once a victim was warmed up, they were handed over to marketers, who pressured them into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency websites.
* The Closers: If a victim was ready to make a significant payment, they were often transferred to Chinese operators. This ensured that no single Nigerian unit understood the full architecture of the fraud.
“Victims were blocked immediately after payments were made,” Chindaya told the court.
For those Nigerian recruits who grew a conscience and tried to leave, the syndicate allegedly used ‘debt bondage’ tactics, threatening to withhold their salaries to keep them trapped in the system.
Infrastructure and Forgery
The reach of the "Audu Network” extended into the telecommunications sector. Investigators uncovered 384 pre-registered SIM cards registered to unsuspecting individuals in Northern Nigeria.
These cards were used to facilitate the digital facade of the operation.
Furthermore, the investigation linked Audu to several other shell entities, including ‘Anhongs,’ another supposed gaming firm that shared Genting’s email and office infrastructure.
Chindaya also noted that Audu’s personal lifestyle was funded directly by the scheme, with ₦74 million traced from corporate accounts to his personal FCMB account for office furnishings and diesel.
A Generational Crisis
Perhaps the most sobering part of the testimony was Chindaya’s reflection on the social impact. She noted that through this single syndicate, over 600 Nigerian youths had been fully trained in professional cyber fraud — individuals who now possess criminal skill sets without ever having held legitimate employment.
The trial, presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi, was adjourned until February 24 and 26, 2026.
All rights reserved. The content on this website, including text and other digital materials, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of The News Accelerator Network.
For advertising inquiries, news coverage, or press releases, please get in touch with us at
📧 thenewsacceleratornetwork@gmail.com
📞 08051017159, 08173970030
Kindly follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/thenewsaccelerator
You can also subscribe to our YouTube channels here: UCVELRC3WinKZ7tdmhmZaRmQhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/sub_confirmation=1
إرسال تعليق