Six Nigerians Linked to Black Axe Syndicate Extradited to US Over Romance Scam Allegations
CAPE TOWN — South African police handed six Nigerian nationals wanted in the United States over to FBI agents on Friday, extraditing men accused of running romance scams that defrauded more than 100 American women of over $6 million (£5 million; 100 million rand).
The six suspects, arrested in South Africa in 2021, are believed to belong to Black Axe, a Nigerian crime syndicate tied to human trafficking, internet fraud and murder. According to South Africa’s elite police unit, the Hawks, the men’s victims included pensioners and businesspeople who were drawn into elaborate online relationships before being defrauded of their money.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the suspects were moved from a correctional facility in Cape Town to the airport on Friday morning, where they were due to be handed over to agents from the FBI and the US Secret Service. She said the men would face wire fraud and money-laundering charges once they reach the United States. Neither South African nor American authorities had released the names of those extradited as of Friday.
A Global Crime Network
Black Axe began decades ago as a student fraternity in Nigeria, which remains its main recruitment base; many of its members are university-educated and are said to be recruited while still in school. The group has since grown into one of the most far-reaching organized crime networks in the world, with operations spanning Africa, Europe and North America, according to a BBC Eye investigation from 2021.
US law enforcement has pursued the group for years. The FBI opened major operations against Black Axe in November 2019 and September 2021, ultimately bringing charges against more than 35 people connected to multimillion-dollar internet fraud schemes. Interpol has since coordinated further crackdowns on the network across several countries.
Interpol said last month that its most recent operation, carried out between November 2025 and June 2026, had targeted seven sites in South Africa tied to a syndicate running romance and investment scams. The raids led to 39 arrests, the seizure of cash, and the freezing of more than 250 bank accounts.
Charges Filed in 2021
Separately, the US Department of Justice announced in 2021 that it had charged eight men allegedly linked to Black Axe over a wide-ranging internet fraud operation built around romance scams and advance-fee schemes. Prosecutors said the men used social media, dating websites and internet-based calls — often under multiple false identities — to build relationships with victims across the US.
Investigators allege the group funneled stolen funds through victims’ own bank accounts, as well as accounts belonging to other individuals with US banking access, to move the money to South Africa. In some cases, victims were persuaded to open new US bank accounts that the suspects would then use themselves.
How the Scam Worked
A questionnaire circulated to victims by the FBI’s field office in New Jersey outlined a recurring script allegedly used by the group. A typical con involved a fabricated online love interest who claimed to be traveling to Cape Town for a construction project. That persona would later tell the victim they had been robbed and ask for a phone or other electronics to be shipped to South Africa.
From there, victims were often asked for money to cover invented expenses — repairs to a broken crane at the supposed job site, legal fees from an alleged workplace accident, or foreign taxes needed to release a larger sum of money the victim had purportedly been promised.
