By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has uncovered a cryptocurrency trail involving more than ₦3.6bn in suspected proceeds of cybercrime and arrested seven suspects in six separate investigations.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Centre, Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja while providing updates on investigations into cyber-enabled offences.
According to Ezima, the cases cover a range of alleged crimes, including business email compromise, investment fraud, identity theft, sextortion, romance scams, impersonation and property-related fraud.
One of the investigations centres on Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, whom the police identified as the proprietor of Kestart Technology.
The police alleged that Ihekaire was involved in an international investment fraud and money-laundering operation in which about ₦3.62bn in suspected criminal proceeds was converted to Tether, commonly known as USDT.
Investigators said the alleged conversion was carried out through peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions on the Bybit platform.
The NPF-NCCC said detectives are now examining the movement of the funds and working to identify other individuals who may have participated in the alleged scheme.
Authorities are also pursuing the recovery of assets suspected to have been acquired with proceeds from the alleged crimes.
Ezima said the development demonstrated the increasingly sophisticated methods being adopted by cybercriminals, particularly the use of cryptocurrency and digital platforms to transfer and conceal suspected illicit funds.
The police chief also provided an update on Operation Broken Mask, an ongoing investigation into cybercrime networks.
According to Ezima, the operation has uncovered more than 12.5 million email records belonging to victims allegedly connected to cybercrime activities across more than 50 countries.
He said the investigation was conducted with assistance from international law-enforcement partners, including agencies in Germany and Canada.
The international cooperation, he explained, had strengthened the ability of Nigerian investigators to track cybercriminal networks whose operations extend beyond the country’s borders.
The collaboration has also helped investigators identify digital infrastructure allegedly used to facilitate cyber-enabled offences.
Ezima said the NPF-NCCC would continue to expand its technical and investigative capabilities to confront emerging forms of cybercrime.
He particularly highlighted the growing use of cryptocurrency and other digital platforms in the movement of suspected criminal proceeds.
The AIG stressed that investigations into the six cases were ongoing.
He added that suspects would be prosecuted in accordance with the law where investigators establish sufficient evidence to support a prima facie case.
The police also said efforts were being intensified to trace and recover suspected proceeds while dismantling networks involved in cyber-enabled financial crimes.
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