Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals and directors of Genting International Co. Limited, Huang Haoyu, also known as Ken, and An Hongxu, to a cumulative 46 years’ imprisonment each, or an option of a N56 million fine, over a multi-billion-naira cybercrime and money laundering scheme.
The court also ordered the convicts to undertake three days of community service and directed that they be repatriated to their country of origin after serving their sentences and completing the community service.
The two were among 792 suspected internet and cryptocurrency fraud suspects arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos in December 2024.
The second defendant, Audu Friday, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and will face trial.
At the resumed trial on Wednesday, counsel to both directors, Bridget Omateno, informed the court that they had decided to change their pleas from not guilty to guilty.
When the charges were re-read by the registrar, Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu pleaded guilty to the seven-count charge filed against them, while Audu Friday maintained his plea of not guilty.
Prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari-Bala urged the court to convict the two men in view of their admission. She noted that the prosecution had earlier called two witnesses before the change of plea.
Following her application, Justice Osiagor convicted Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu and sentenced them.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of extensive assets recovered during the investigation from multiple locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi to the Federal Government.
The items include 1,596 mobile phones, 2,120 office chairs, 544 office tables, 194 routers, 43 computer systems, a network server, 126 air-conditioning units, several generators and vehicles, hundreds of mattresses and bunk beds, thousands of SIM cards across different networks, and numerous other electronic devices and household items.
