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Police Trace ₦3.6bn Cybercrime Proceeds, Arrest Seven

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The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has traced more than ₦3.6 billion in suspected proceeds of cybercrime converted into cryptocurrency and arrested seven suspects in six separate investigations….

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has traced more than ₦3.6 billion in suspected proceeds of cybercrime converted into cryptocurrency and arrested seven suspects in six separate investigations.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the NPF-NCCC, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja.

He said the investigations covered business email compromise, investment fraud, identity theft, sextortion, romance scams, impersonation and property fraud.

In one major case, police arrested Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, proprietor of Kestart Technology, over an alleged international investment fraud and money-laundering scheme.

According to the police, approximately ₦3.62 billion in suspected proceeds was converted into Tether (USDT) through peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions on Bybit.

The NPF-NCCC also disclosed that its Operation Broken Mask uncovered more than 12.5 million victim email records linked to individuals in over 50 countries.

The operation was conducted in collaboration with law enforcement authorities in Germany and Canada.

The Centre said investigations were ongoing, with efforts focused on recovering suspected criminal assets and prosecuting suspects against whom prima facie cases have been established.

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