JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — South African authorities said they would extradite six Nigerian men to the United States on Friday, September 11, 2026.
The men face wire-fraud and money-laundering charges arising from an alleged online romance scheme.
The South African Police Service said the suspects had targeted more than 100 women in the United States and obtained more than $6 million, equivalent to about 100 million rand, through the alleged operation.
Authorities described the six men as suspected members of the Black Axe network. They have not been convicted of the charges they face in the United States.
“The six Nigerian nationals were arrested in South Africa in 2021, following a major takedown operation conducted by the Hawks/DPCI,” the police said.
Interpol South Africa coordinated their transfer from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, according to the statement.
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service arrived in South Africa that morning to receive the suspects.
The formal handover was scheduled for later in the afternoon.
The South African authorities did not provide further information about the identities of the six men or the individual allegations against them.
The transfer follows separate extraditions from Nigeria in August.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission handed two Nigerian men to US authorities to face allegations of online sexual exploitation and financially motivated sextortion involving male minors.
FBI investigations had linked the men to separate schemes involving two teenage boys who later died by suicide.
Those proceedings are separate from the romance-fraud case involving the six suspects transferred from South Africa.
