Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced two Chinese citizens, Huang Haoyu (also known as Ken) and An Hongxu, both directors of Genting International Co. Limited, to a total of 46 years in prison for their involvement in a large-scale cybercrime and money laundering scheme worth billions of naira.
Justice Osiagor also ordered that the foreigners complete a three-day community service and be repatriated to their home country after serving their sentences and fulfilling their community service duties.
Haoyu and Hongxu were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos in December 2024, alongside 792 others, over internet and cryptocurrency fraud.
The EFCC docked the convict and a Nigerian, Friday Audu and the company Genting International Ltd before the court on a 12-count charge of conspiring in 2024 to illegally access computer systems to destabilise Nigeria’s economy and social order by recruiting Nigerian youths to falsely pose as foreigners for financial gain.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charge when they were arraigned in 2025.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the defence lawyer, Miss Bridget Omateno, announced that her clients had decided to change their plea from not guilty to guilty.
Omateno noted that at the last court sitting, the court was informed that the defendant’s counsel had been debriefed.
Although there was no plea bargain agreement with the prosecution, the lawyer said her clients are already willing to change their pleas and asked the court to re-read the charges to them.
After the charges were re-read, Haoyu and Hongxu pleaded guilty to the seven-count charge, while Audu Friday maintained his not-guilty plea.
The EFCC counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, urged the court to convict the two based on their guilty pleas, stating that the prosecution had previously called two witnesses.
The lawyer explained that charges in counts one and two carry life imprisonment, while counts three and four have 14-year jail sentences.
“I humbly pray your lordship to impose the maximum sentence on the convicts to serve as a warning to others,” she said.
Buhari-Bala also urged the court to confiscate all items found during investigations, including those from Oyin Jolayemi Street and Bishop Oluwole Street in Victoria Island, as well as any investments associated with the first and third defendants, for later seizure by the Federal Government.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor sentenced Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu to 46 years each, with an option to pay a N56 million fine.
The court also ordered them to undertake three days of community service and be repatriated after their sentences and community service are completed.
The case against Audu Friday will continue, as he still insists on his innocence.
In addition to the sentences, the court ordered the forfeiture of a large collection of assets recovered from various locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, including 1,596 mobile phones, 2,120 office chairs, 544 office tables, 194 routers, 43 computers, a server, 126 air conditioners, generators, vehicles, mattresses, bunk beds, thousands of SIM cards, and many other electronic and household items from residences at No. 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Plot 1220 Bishop Oluwole Street, 54A A.J. Marinho Drive, and No. 14A Modupe Alakija Crescent.
The defendants are accused of procuring individuals to hold $1,262,000 USDT in a Binance wallet and $1,300,203 USDT in a Bybit wallet, funds they knew or should have known were from illegal activities, such as fraud, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Between August and December 2024, they allegedly maintained N3,407,824,740.78 in Genting International Co. Limited’s Union Bank account, believed to be proceeds of fraud.
They also purportedly transferred N913,922,740.29 to an account belonging to Duliang Pan, who is currently at large, and N106,950,000 to Lagos Oriental Hotel Limited.
Additional charges against Audu Friday and the company include illegal foreign exchange transactions worth billions of naira, which violate the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, as well as failure to submit required declarations to SCUML.
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