Indian police have arrested two Nigerians for allegedly impersonating company executives on WhatsApp to defraud employees of Indian firms.
Operatives of the cybercrime unit of the Gurgaon Police Command said the suspects posed as directors of companies and tricked unsuspecting staff into transferring funds into bank accounts linked to their syndicate.
According to a report by The Times of India on Wednesday, the suspects were identified as Ojo Uyiosa and another Nigerian known simply as James.
They were arrested last Saturday following an analysis of a suspicious phone number connected to the fraudulent transactions.
Police investigations revealed that Uyiosa entered India in 2014 on a student visa, while James reportedly arrived in 2023 on a tourist visa.
The suspects were said to have worked with other Nigerian nationals, using WhatsApp messages to create a sense of urgency and pressure employees into making quick financial transfers.
The proceeds were allegedly shared among members of the group.
Investigators disclosed that about 10 lakh rupees, valued at over N15m, was transferred into a Bandhan Bank account linked to the operation.
The account had reportedly been flagged in two separate cybercrime complaints before the arrests.
Police said further questioning and evidence indicated that the suspects were involved in multiple cyber fraud cases employing the same modus operandi.
A formal case was subsequently filed, and the suspects were arraigned in court on Sunday, where they were remanded in police custody for three days.
The cybercrime unit added that two mobile phones and three SIM cards allegedly used in carrying out the fraud were recovered, while efforts were ongoing to trace additional assets, identify other members of the syndicate and determine the full extent of the operation.
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The arrests come amid a growing number of Nigerians being apprehended abroad over cyber-related offences, a development that has continued to raise concerns among Nigerian authorities and law-abiding citizens in the diaspora.
