The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals and directors of Genting International Co. Limited, Huang Haoyu (also known as Ken) and An Hongxu, to 46 years’ imprisonment each over a N3.4 billion and $2.5 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering scheme.
Justice Daniel Osiagor, who presided over the case on Wednesday, also gave the convicts an option of a N56 million fine. The court further ordered them to undertake three days of community service and directed that they be repatriated to China after serving their sentences and completing the community service.
The two were among 792 suspected internet and cryptocurrency fraud suspects arrested in Lagos in December 2024 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
However, a third defendant, Audu Friday, pleaded not guilty and will face trial as proceedings continue.
At the resumed hearing, defence counsel Bridget Omateno informed the court that the two directors had decided to change their pleas from not guilty to guilty. She noted that although there was no plea bargain agreement, the defendants applied to have the charges read afresh before entering their new pleas.
After the registrar re-read the seven-count charge, Huang and An pleaded guilty, while Audu Friday maintained his innocence.
Prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, urged the court to convict the duo based on their admission of guilt. She reminded the court that the prosecution had earlier called two witnesses before the change of plea.
“The offences in counts one and two attract life imprisonment, while counts three and four carry 14-year jail terms. I humbly pray your lordship to impose the maximum sentence on the convicts in order to serve as a deterrent to the public,” she submitted.
She also asked the court to order the forfeiture of all items recovered during investigations, including properties on Oyin Jolayemi Street and Bishop Oluwole Street in Victoria Island, as well as investments traced to the convicts.
In his judgment, Justice Osiagor convicted the two men and imposed a cumulative 46-year jail term each, with the option of a N56 million fine. He further ordered the forfeiture of extensive assets recovered from multiple locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi 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, and other electronic devices and household items recovered from premises on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Bishop Oluwole Street, A.J. Marinho Drive in Victoria Island, and Modupe Alakija Crescent in Ikoyi.
According to the charge, the defendants conspired in 2024 to unlawfully access computer systems and allegedly recruited Nigerian youths to impersonate foreign nationals for financial gain, contrary to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).
They were also accused of retaining $1,262,000 USDT in a Binance wallet and $1,300,203 USDT in a Bybit wallet—funds believed to be proceeds of fraud—contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Additionally, between August and December 2024, they allegedly retained N3,407,824,740.78 in Genting International Co. Limited’s Union Bank account, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The charge further stated that N913,922,740.29 was transferred to an account belonging to one Duliang Pan, who remains at large, and N106,950,000 to Lagos Oriental Hotel Limited.
Separate counts against Audu Friday and the company include alleged unlawful foreign exchange transactions running into billions of naira and failure to submit mandatory declarations to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML).
