South Africa to extradite six Nigerians to US over USD 6 million romance scam

South Africa will extradite six Nigerian men to the United States over an alleged online romance scam. The handover underscores a wider crackdown on Black Axe-linked fraud and cross-border money laundering.

In Short

• Cape Town arrests in 2021 exposed an alleged cross-border online fraud syndicate
• Investigators say over 100 American women were groomed through fake relationships
• Victims included pensioners and businesspeople, showing the scam’s broad target profile

Six Nigerian nationals accused of being part of an organised criminal network that cheated American women out of more than USD 6 million through online romance scams will be extradited from South Africa to the United States on Friday, South African police said.

The men were arrested in Cape Town in 2021 and are due to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being taken to the US, where they face wire fraud and money laundering charges. South African police said they allegedly targeted more than 100 women in the US, including pensioners and businesspeople, through sophisticated online relationships.

The six are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as Black Axe, which Interpol has described as being among the groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, including romance, cryptocurrency and investment scams.

"Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning," police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said.

Interpol said last month that a recent operation against West African organised crime groups led to the arrest of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes. The operation aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets, and support arrests and prosecutions.

In South Africa, authorities also raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. Police arrested 39 people there and froze USD 2.67 million in bank accounts. The extradition of the six men on Friday comes as part of this wider action against organised online fraud networks.

With PTI Inputs

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