NIGERIAN WHO WORKED FOR CHINESE CYBERCRIME EXPERTS REVEALS HOW THEY OPERATED AND EFCC COMPLICITY

On December 10, 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 792 suspects for their involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams at their hideout, known as Big Leaf Building, on No. 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

According to the EFCC, it arrested 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakhtans, one Pakistani, one Indonesian and some Nigerians. The EFCC said that the foreign nationals used the facility, which could easily be mistaken for the corporate headquarters of a financial establishment, to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams, and also used the identities of their Nigerian accomplices to perpetrate their criminal activities. FIJ spoke with a 26-year-old Nigerian who worked for these foreign nationals.

How did you get in?

So, one day I was on my own when a friend called me and told me he had found a job I could do. He said it involved working with people, and since he didn’t know much about it but knew I had some experience in trading cryptocurrency and forex, he reached out to me. He mentioned that if I got into the job, he could also get in through me.

I was interested, so I asked how much the pay was. He said it wasn’t certain yet, adding that I’d have to go to the company, go through an interview process, and get picked. I agreed, and the next day I went there.

What was the interview and onboarding process like?

The office was located across the street. It was on No.7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island. When I arrived there on November 14, I had my CV ready. There were about five of us who showed up around the same time. They gave us some snacks, and after a while, the department head, a Chinese man who was in charge, came in. He brought an interpreter so we could communicate, and he spoke to each of us.

He asked basic questions: Could we write? Could we speak good English? We answered yes. Then he asked about our previous jobs and our salary expectations. After that, he handed us a white sheet of paper listing the salary, bonuses, and other details. He explained how the job would work — we’d be paid based on daily performances, and if we stayed in the hostel they provided, N24,000 would be deducted from our salary for accommodation. The salary was N280,000 and the bonus was N40,000.

In reality, I worked from November 14 to 30 and was only paid N140,000. They didn’t pay me for my work in December due to the issues that arose later with the EFCC.

What was the job like?

Most of us ended up staying in the hostel. It was a large building at the front of the compound. Many of us started the job without fully knowing what was going on but as time went by, some of us started seeing it as fraud.

On the first and second days, they trained us on how to use their system. Then they gave us formats to go through and asked if we understood. Most people didn’t. But one of the guys we met there took the time to explain things clearly. He walked us through everything: how to get clients, how to build Instagram and Facebook accounts, and all the practical tasks of getting money out of the clients.

Our role was simply to follow instructions and deliver results not to ask too many questions. Once we completed our tasks and the payment process, we handed everything over.

What can you say about the work environment?

At first, the job was going well. The environment was professional, and the Chinese staff seemed focused on their business. I think they were working under someone because they had people they reported to. They expected us to be just as focused, but many the Nigerians made it difficult.

Some started misbehaving. They stole equipment, fought and caused trouble. As a result, the management became stricter. For example, people would work for just four or five days, get paid, and then quit. Some would go to another department and re-apply, trying to get paid again. But once the bosses realised this, they found a way to stop it.

They started issuing ID cards and recording everyone. Once your details were registered with one department, you couldn’t switch or re-apply elsewhere. This made things more controlled, but also limited our opportunities.

How were you paid?

Despite the challenges, they tried to fix issues as they came up. After the first month, they paid us. Not everyone was paid at the same time. They paid me on December 2. After that, they promised to pay their staff at the end of every month.

My shift was from 4 pm to 4 am. Others worked from 6 pm to 6 am or 8 am to 8 pm. There were food vendors around, even at night, and we were allowed to go outside to buy food. In fact, more vendors started showing up at night because of us. It was clear we were bringing business to the area. Everything seemed stable and safe.

Tell us about the EFCC raid

On December 10, the EFCC raided the place. I was asleep when the message came but I was not in the building. People were shouting that the EFCC was around.

This wasn’t the first time we’d heard such a warning. The first time, everyone went to the office, but the EFCC wasn’t actually there. So, we didn’t take it seriously at first. But this time, it was real.

What some other staff members and I heard was that the EFCC raided the company because they refused to bribe the EFCC. The reason was that they had bribed the EFCC several times and could not afford to pay what they were requesting. After the EFCC raid, they couldn’t pay us for the next eight days. People started complaining, demanding their salaries, but the management had disappeared. At one point, they even left our group chat, leaving us completely on our own.

Were you aware that what you were doing was fraud?

They provided all the materials we needed to work. They gave us pictures and assigned us specific tasks to carry out. I think the goal was to promote a system or platform, possibly related to cryptocurrency, using social media.

We worked on desktop computers, and they provided us with enough data to run the operations. Our job was to edit content, choose the right models (profiles) to use, and then post captions along with relevant hashtags to attract attention.

The target audience was primarily from the USA as the entire operation was focused on American victims.

Before starting the actual scamming process, there was a training period. During this time, we were taught how to pose as legitimate investors or professionals involved in jobs and investment opportunities.

The idea was to get people to invest in a crypto company — they even had a name for it, something like “Crypto Company Lady” or similar, though I can’t remember the exact name now.

Once a connection was made and the victim showed interest, we would then complete the initial setup. If the handler instructed us to move to a new target or “game”, we’d do so — always using the company name and following a well-organised system.

What happened after the EFCC raid?

Before the raid, they had actually planned to move us to a new location. They had bought another house nearby and were renovating it to provide better water and living conditions. But the EFCC incident disrupted everything.

After the raid, we were all stranded. Many of us had spent all our money to get there. It was then that I realised how far people had come just for this job. And when the crisis hit, most couldn’t go back home because they had no money left.

Everything from inside the building, all the machines, equipment, and belongings, was being moved out. They used the same white buses that used to shuttle us from the hostel to the company. Now, those buses were being loaded with the items and the Chinese people were using them to transport everything away.

I don’t know where they took it, or what the reason was behind the move. I didn’t hear any official explanation or argument.

How did you escape?

That day, I was lucky not to be around. Because I worked at night, I could not have been in the building.

What do you know about the company?

From what I understand, they have a main company based in China and it’s staffed only by Chinese people.

That’s why they came to Nigeria: because of the language barrier. They believed that if Nigerians worked for them, communication with English-speaking clients would be easier, and the job would run more smoothly.

When I was working with them, one of the managers even said that people in China weren’t performing better than we were. It just felt like we were catching up in terms of speed and efficiency. But the company’s operation in China was much bigger and more advanced than the setup we had here.

Even after everything fell apart, one of the bosses promised to take us to China to work directly for them there. He said he would handle everything, our travel, documentation, even passports, and that once we started working, we’d receive a monthly salary. That was the information they shared with us.