South Africa sends Black Axe suspects to US

Keypoints:

Six suspects being transferred to US custody
More than 100 women allegedly targeted
Fraud losses estimated above $6m

SOUTH Africa is extraditing six Nigerian nationals to the United States to face federal charges over an alleged Black Axe-linked cybercrime operation accused of defrauding more than 100 American women of over $6m through online romance scams.

The transfer, scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026, marks a major step in a five-year international investigation involving South Africa’s Hawks, Interpol, the FBI and the US Secret Service. The suspects face charges including wire fraud and money laundering in the United States.

FBI awaits Cape Town handover

South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, widely known as the Hawks, said the six men would be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport.

There, they were expected to be formally handed over to FBI and US Secret Service officials who travelled to South Africa for the extradition.

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the suspects allegedly targeted more than 100 women in the United States and defrauded them of more than R100m ($6m).

Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who investigators say were drawn into sophisticated online relationships before being persuaded to transfer money.

Romance scams spanned a decade

The six were arrested in Cape Town in 2021 during a major operation targeting alleged members of the Black Axe organised criminal network.

US prosecutors have previously alleged that members of the Cape Town-based operation used online dating sites, social media platforms and false identities to establish relationships with victims between 2011 and 2021.

According to the US Department of Justice, victims were sometimes told that people they believed they were romantically involved with had travelled to South Africa for work and suddenly required money following fabricated emergencies.

Investigators say some victims were persuaded to send money or other items of value. Prosecutors also allege that accounts controlled by victims and other people in the United States were used to move criminal proceeds to South Africa.

Black Axe investigation widens

US authorities describe Black Axe, also known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa, as an international organisation operating through regional networks in several countries.

One alleged Cape Town Black Axe leader, Enorense Izevbigie, was extradited from South Africa to the United States in December 2024.

He appeared in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, on charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. At the time, US prosecutors said six co-defendants remained in South Africa awaiting extradition.

The latest transfer comes amid a broader international crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crime linked to West African organised networks.

Africa Briefing reported in August that Interpol’s Operation Jackal IV resulted in 58 arrests and identified 263 suspects across 23 countries.

South African authorities also raided seven Johannesburg locations linked to suspected romance and investment fraud operations during the campaign, arresting 39 people and blocking more than 250 bank accounts.

The case also comes against a wider rise in cyber-enabled fraud. Africa’s reported cybercrime losses reached $484m in 2025, highlighting the growing financial cost of increasingly sophisticated online fraud networks.

Separately, German courts have jailed Nigerians in another major romance-fraud case, underlining the international reach of such schemes.