Six Nigerian men accused of conning more than 100 women out of R100 million face fraud and money-laundering charges in the US
By Staff Reporter
Six men accused of turning online romance into a R100 million fraud operation have been handed over to American agents at Cape Town International Airport.
The Nigerian nationals were escorted from a Cape Town correctional facility on Friday, 11 September, before being placed in the custody of the FBI and US Secret Service.
They were due to be flown to the United States to face charges including wire fraud and money laundering.
The men allegedly belong to Black Axe, an organised criminal network linked to cybercrime across several countries.
Investigators claim they used carefully constructed online relationships to win the trust of more than 100 women in America before persuading them to send money.
Some of the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople. The Hawks estimate that more than R100 million, about $6.2 million, was taken.
The six men were arrested in Cape Town during a major Hawks operation in 2021.
Interpol South Africa coordinated Friday’s transfer. Images from the airport show the suspects surrounded by Interpol officers and members of a South African tactical unit during the handover to US federal agents.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the American officials had arrived in South Africa that morning to take custody of the men.
Black Axe traces its origins to a Nigerian student fraternity formed in the late 1970s. Law-enforcement authorities now describe it as a structured criminal organisation associated with romance scams and other forms of financial cybercrime.
Suspected members of the network have also been arrested in Switzerland and Spain this year as international authorities intensify their pursuit of the organisation.
Authorities have not released the six men’s names, provided the allegations against each suspect or disclosed where they will make their first US court appearance.
