A major intelligence-led cybercrime investigation involving the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Ghana Police Service and international law enforcement partners has culminated in the arrest and prosecution of a Nigerian national who had become a person of significant investigative interest to both the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over suspected transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes linked to compromised United States banking cards.
The arrest represents a significant breakthrough in the fight against cross-border cyber-enabled financial crime.
The operation followed months of intelligence gathering and coordinated investigations led by the Cyber Security Authority in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, with investigative cooperation and information sharing involving INTERPOL and the FBI to support efforts aimed at dismantling an international financial crime network.
The accused, Aderinsola Oluwanifemi Adeleye, a Nigerian national who operates a cement block manufacturing business and resides at Oyarifa in Accra, has been arraigned before court following extensive investigations into fraudulent Point of Sale (POS) transactions conducted across multiple fuel stations in Ghana.
The case began on Thursday, June 25, when the Manager of Haatso Shell Filling Station reported to the Police that Shell Headquarters had received a complaint from Ecobank Ghana PLC concerning suspicious Point of Sale transactions carried out using two Citi Bank debit cards issued in the United States.
According to investigators, the unauthorized transactions were traced to POS terminals at Haatso Shell Filling Station and Osu Total Filling Station.
Internal investigations conducted by Shell Ghana subsequently identified two fuel pump attendants as persons suspected of facilitating the fraudulent transactions.
The two attendants were arrested and, during police interrogation, disclosed that the accused together with another accomplice had repeatedly visited Haatso Shell Filling Station, where they used Citi Bank debit cards through mobile devices to process fraudulent transactions.
Later that same day, at approximately 8:00pm, the accused allegedly returned to Haatso Shell Filling Station to conduct another transaction using one of the Citi Bank debit cards.
He was immediately recognized by the two pump attendants as the individual involved in the fraudulent activities and was arrested by the Police.
A search conducted on the accused at the time of his arrest led to the recovery of a Beretta pistol loaded with two rounds of 9mm live ammunition and a Citi Bank VISA debit card bearing number 5262 2611 2797 4764.
Investigators subsequently extended the search to the offices of AA Global Homes Construction Limited, located at Katamanso in Accra.
During the operation, officers discovered fifteen rounds of live 9mm ammunition together with one empty 9mm shell casing concealed inside a drawer within the accused’s office.
The recovered ammunition and shell casing were retained as exhibits pending further investigations into their possession and possible use.
Investigators disclosed that the accused had already come under the intelligence radar of the Cyber Security Authority prior to his arrest in connection with suspected cyber-enabled financial crimes.
Acting on intelligence gathered, the Ghana Police Service, working in collaboration with the Cyber Security Authority, applied for and obtained a lawful search warrant from the court to search the accused’s residence at Oyarifa.
The search was executed on Saturday, June 27, during which investigators recovered several electronic devices, including the accused’s two personal mobile phones believed to have been used in the commission of the alleged offences.
The electronic exhibits have been retained for forensic examination to establish their evidential value and determine the full extent of the accused’s involvement in the suspected criminal enterprise.
During investigations, the accused admitted using the recovered Citi Bank debit card to conduct transactions at both Haatso Shell Filling Station and Osu Total Filling Station.
In his cautioned statement, he stated that an individual identified as Gail Oneara, whom he claimed resides in the United States of America, had sent him the debit card with an available balance of approximately US$10,000 for his personal use. According to the accused, he had withdrawn or utilized approximately US$8,000 from the card before his arrest.
Investigations were subsequently extended to Ecobank Ghana PLC, where an officer with the Internal Audit Department’s Investigation Unit, confirmed that the bank had received a fraud complaint from Citi Bank through VISA International concerning unauthorized transactions carried out on two Citi Bank customers’ debit cards.
Further investigations established that the accused, acting together with accomplices who remain at large, allegedly visited several fuel filling stations, including Haatso Shell and Osu Total, where he connived with fuel pump attendants to process fictitious fuel purchases using stolen or compromised Citi Bank debit cards.
Investigators allege that once the fraudulent transactions were successfully authorized through the POS terminals, the accused received cash equivalent to the purported fuel purchases rather than fuel, thereby dishonestly obtaining the proceeds of the fraudulent transactions.
The investigation further revealed that the accused allegedly invested the proceeds of the fraudulent scheme in acquiring substantial assets, including a four-bedroom storey building, a cement block manufacturing factory located at Katamanso near Amrahia, a black Nissan ZNA pick-up vehicle, and other properties reasonably suspected to have been purchased with proceeds of crime.
Law enforcement agencies are continuing investigations to identify and apprehend other members of the criminal network, trace additional assets believed to have been acquired through illicit proceeds, and establish the full extent of the fraudulent transactions.
Authorities say forensic examination of the electronic devices recovered during the searches is expected to provide further evidence regarding the activities of the syndicate and any possible international links.
The accused has since been formally charged and brought before the appropriate court, where the matter is currently before the judiciary.
The case highlights the increasing sophistication of cyber-enabled financial crimes and underscores the importance of intelligence-driven investigations, inter-agency collaboration, and international law enforcement cooperation in combating transnational cybercrime affecting Ghana’s financial sector.