THE Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Huang Haoyu (also known as Ken) and An Hongxu, directors of Genting International Co. Limited, to 46 years’ imprisonment each for their involvement in a large-scale cybercrime and money laundering operation.
Delivering judgment, Justice Daniel Osiagor handed the duo cumulative 46-year jail terms apiece, with an option of a N56 million fine.
The court further ordered them to perform three days of community service and directed that they be deported to China after completing their sentences and service.
Huang and An were among 792 suspected internet and cryptocurrency fraud suspects arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos in December 2024.
A third defendant, Audu Friday, pleaded not guilty and is expected to face trial.
During yesterday’s proceedings, defence counsel Bridget Omateno informed the court that Huang and An had decided to change their pleas from not guilty to guilty and requested that the charges be read to them again.
The court granted the request, and after the seven-count charge was re-read, both men pleaded guilty, while Friday maintained his innocence.
EFCC prosecutor Bilkisu Bala-Buhari urged the court to convict the defendants based on their admission of guilt.
She noted that the prosecution had earlier presented two witnesses before the change of plea and added that some of the counts carried life imprisonment, while others attracted 14-year jail terms. She asked the court to impose the maximum penalty to serve as a deterrent.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor convicted the two men and granted the prosecution’s application for the forfeiture of assets recovered during investigations.
Items forfeited to the Federal Government 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 across various networks, and other electronic and household items.
The recovered items were traced to several locations, including Oyin Jolayemi Street and Bishop Oluwole Street in Victoria Island, A.J. Marinho Drive, and Modupe Alakija Crescent in Ikoyi.
According to the charges, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2024 to unlawfully access computer systems and recruit Nigerian youths to impersonate foreign nationals online for financial gain, an act said to undermine Nigeria’s economic and social stability, contrary to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended).
They were also accused of laundering proceeds of fraud, including retaining $1,262,000 USDT in a Binance wallet and $1,300,203 USDT in a Bybit wallet.
Additionally, between August and December 2024, they allegedly retained N3.4 billion in Genting International’s Union Bank account, funds believed to be proceeds of illegal activities.
The prosecution further alleged that N913.9 million was transferred to an associate, Duliang Pan, who is currently at large, while N106.95 million was paid to Lagos Oriental Hotel Limited.
Proceedings will continue against Audu Friday and the company on separate charges related to unlawful foreign exchange transactions and failure to comply with statutory declarations to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering.