South African authorities will on Friday extradite six Nigerian nationals to the United States, where they are wanted over allegations of defrauding more than 100 people in an online romance scam worth over $6 million.
The suspects, arrested in South Africa in 2021, are accused of belonging to Black Axe, an organised criminal network, and face charges including wire fraud and money laundering in the United States.
South Africa’s elite police unit, the Hawks, said the six men would be transferred to officials of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport.
According to the Hawks, the suspects allegedly targeted more than 100 women in the US through online relationships, using the schemes to obtain more than R100 million, equivalent to about $6.2 million.
“Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships used to defraud them of their money,” Hawks spokeswoman Colonel Katlego Mogale said.
The extradition follows a major South African crackdown in 2021 that resulted in the suspects’ arrests. Their alleged activities form part of a broader pattern of transnational cybercrime in which fraudsters exploit dating platforms and social media to establish emotional relationships with victims before soliciting or manipulating them into sending money.
Romance scams have become an increasingly prominent form of online fraud internationally, with perpetrators often operating across borders and concealing their identities behind fabricated profiles.
The case also highlights the growing cooperation between African and US authorities in tackling organised cybercrime networks whose activities extend beyond national jurisdictions.
The suspects are expected to face prosecution in the United States following their handover to American authorities.
Nigeria has previously been linked to several high-profile international cybercrime cases. In 2022, Nigerian social media personality Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, was sentenced in the US to more than 11 years in prison for his involvement in a multinational fraud operation.
The latest case involves significantly larger-scale allegations, with the Hawks saying victims included elderly pensioners as well as business owners who were allegedly deceived through carefully cultivated online relationships.
South African authorities did not indicate whether additional suspects connected to the alleged network remain under investigation, but the extradition marks another major step in the international prosecution of cybercrime operations operating across borders.
