EFCC Charges Man Over $9.2M Crypto Scam
EFCC charged Usie Otukpa Osang with eight counts in a crypto investment scheme that allegedly took about $9.2 million after 19.806 BTC was sent to a Binance wallet.
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged Usie Otukpa Osang with eight counts of fraud in an alleged cryptocurrency investment scam that prosecutors say took about $9.2 million from an Australian executive. The complaint says 19.806 bitcoin was transferred to a Binance wallet during the scheme. The alleged fraud occurred between May 2021 and May 2022 and involved two transfers: AUD 8.43 million (about $5.6 million) and an additional $3.64 million.
Osang was arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja and pleaded not guilty to all counts. Prosecutors contend he and several unnamed accomplices posed as representatives of a trading platform called Liquid Assets Group, using the aliases “Oscar Tyler” and “Ford Thompson” to persuade Brian Jacques Creigh, an Australian national and CEO of Panacea Capital, to invest.
The charge sheet states Osang received 19.806 bitcoin into a Binance wallet; investigators valued that transfer at roughly $1.08 million at the time of receipt. After the plea, prosecutor Christopher Mshelia asked the court to set a trial date and to keep the defendant in custody. Defense counsel K.I. Shuaibu applied for bail. Justice Egwuatu ordered Osang remanded to the Kuje Correctional Centre and scheduled a bail hearing for July 14, 2026.
The EFCC has increased investigations and prosecutions involving digital assets in recent years and has pursued cases that involve cross-border victims and attempts to recover funds. The matter will continue through Nigeria’s federal courts, where prosecutors must prove the elements of the alleged conspiracy and fraud in open court.
Rume Ophi, Lead of Programs and Communication at VASPA, described the portrayal of Nigeria as a safe haven for global cybercriminals as “largely an amplified perception that does not reflect the reality of the country’s efforts to combat financial crime.” Ophi noted that foreign nationals often organize such operations and recruit local participants, and urged the public to report suspected crypto scams promptly.
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