A leader of an organization was extravagantly spending the money he swindled. The Hajdú-Bihar police caught the Nigerian man in Budapest.
Last autumn, the police first cracked down on Nigerian scammers actively operating in Hungary. At that time, the Hajdú-Bihar police arrested three foreign men and one Hungarian woman, who were suspected of scamming victims worldwide. Among the victims, there was one person who had been swindled out of 70 million forints.
The members of the criminal group prowled dating sites looking for their victims. They mainly targeted affluent middle-aged or older women, attempting to lure them in according to a pre-written script. They carefully crafted an image of themselves as caring and sympathetic. Once the necessary trust was established, they would claim an urgent need for money, using various sham reasons to request funds, with an array of brazen excuses. According to the investigation, the scammers often succeeded in their schemes and obtained millions of forints.
Despite the arrests in October of last year, the Hajdú-Bihar cyber group continued its activities. Soon, a foreign national with suspected links to the criminal organization came under investigation. It is believed that he was one of the leaders of the group, as a significant portion of the money scammed flowed to him. He lived a lavish lifestyle, wearing luxury clothes, financing expensive travels, and recklessly spending money in Budapest nightlife.
On January 8, the criminal investigators, in cooperation with the Cívis Public Support Subdivision, apprehended the 29-year-old Nigerian man in Budapest. He was questioned as a suspect in Debrecen and later taken into custody. A request for his arrest was made, which the court approved. He is facing charges of money laundering.
The investigation revealed that, at his request, his girlfriend had opened a separate bank account where the illicit funds were transferred. The young Hungarian woman was questioned for negligent money laundering but was released to defend herself while at liberty.
(police.hu)
