South Africa to extradite six Nigerians to US for alleged romance scams

South African police are handing over six Nigerians wanted in the US for alleged online romance scams to FBI agents later on Friday.

The group is accused of targeting over 100 women in the US and defrauding them of more than 100m rand ($6m; £5m), the South African authorities said.

Those being extradited were arrested in 2021 and are believed to be members of crime syndicate Black Axe - a Nigerian mafia-style gang tied to human trafficking, internet fraud and murder.

Some of their reported victims included pensioners and businesspeople "who were targeted through sophisticated online relationships used to defraud them of their money", according to South Africa's elite Hawks police unit.

The group will be "transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town" to the airport on Friday morning, where they will be "handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service", Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said in a statement.

They would face wire fraud and money-laundering charges upon their arrival in the US, she added.

US and South African authorities have not so far named the individuals being extradited. The BBC has contacted Interpol, the FBI, Secret Service and US Justice Department for comment.

Black Axe is a shadowy criminal network known for its extreme violence and operates across Africa, Europe and North America.

A BBC Eye investigation in 2021 suggested the syndicate had become one of the most far-reaching and dangerous organised crime groups in the world.

Nigeria is its main recruitment ground and many of its members are university educated and inducted during their schooling.

What began as a Nigerian student fraternity has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies for a number of years.

FBI operations against Black Axe were launched in November 2019 and September 2021, eventually charging more than 35 individuals with multi-million-dollar internet fraud.

Since then, there have been several other operations across multiple countries targeting Black Axe coordinated by the global policing agency Interpol.

Last month, Interpol said during its latest operation - which took place between November 2025 and June 2026 - seven sites in South Africa linked to a syndicate involved in romance and investment scams were raided.

It led to the arrests of 39 people, the seizure of money and the blocking of more than 250 bank accounts.

The US justice department announced federal charges had been laid against eight men allegedly linked to Black Axe in 2021. Prosecutors said they were part of group that engaged in widespread internet fraud involving romance scams and advance-fee schemes.

They said members of the group used social media websites, online dating websites, and internet-based phone calls to find and talk with victims in the US while using a number of aliases.

The group allegedly also used bank accounts of victims and individuals with US-based financial accounts to transfer the money to South Africa. On some occasions, they convinced victims to open financial accounts in the US that the alleged conspirators would then be permitted to use themselves.

In a questionnaire for victims circulated by the FBI in the US state of New Jersey, the agency said members of the group are believed to have used various aliases to solicit funds from unknowing victims.

A common narrative they allegedly spun involved a purported online love interest travelling to Cape Town to work on a construction project. That person would tell the victim they had been mugged and would request a phone and other electronic devices be sent to them in South Africa.

Victims were also told the purported online love interest needed a loan to pay for repairs for a faulty crane at a construction site, to pay for legal fees due to an accident at the site, or to pay for foreign taxes to release a larger sum of money owed to them.