South Africa to extradite six Nigerians accused of multi-million dollar romance scams to the US

Nairobi.- South Africa will extradite to the United States this Friday six Nigerian citizens wanted for their connection to online romance scams targeting around a hundred American women, valued at 100 million rand (about 5.3 million euros), the South African Police reported.

“The six men are alleged members of the Black Axe organized crime network and are wanted by U.S. authorities in connection with wire fraud and money laundering charges,” the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

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Among the victims were pensioners and businesswomen, who were targeted by scams through “sophisticated online relationships” to deceive them and obtain their money.

All suspects were arrested in South Africa in 2021 and, thanks to the coordination of Interpol South Africa, they will be transferred this Friday from a correctional facility in Cape Town to the international airport of that southwestern city, where they will be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service.

According to South African media, these men are wanted by the justice systems of the states of Texas and New Jersey.

The victims were contacted by a person posing as a romantic partner who was traveling to Cape Town to work on construction projects.

From there, the scammers would request the shipment of phones, electronic tablets, or laptops after claiming they had been mugged and robbed.

Other cases also included requests to send large amounts of money to repair defective cranes, cover legal fees after an accident, or to pay taxes.