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).
The suspect was arrested over alleged transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes linked to compromised United States bank 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 intelligence sharing involving INTERPOL and the FBI to help dismantle 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 alleged fraudulent Point of Sale (POS) transactions carried out at multiple fuel stations across Ghana.
The case began on June 25, 2026, 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 POS transactions conducted using two Citibank 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 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 allegedly used Citibank debit cards through mobile devices to process fraudulent transactions.
Later that same day, at about 8:00 p.m., the accused allegedly returned to Haatso Shell Filling Station to conduct another transaction using one of the Citibank debit cards.
He was immediately recognized by the two pump attendants as the individual involved in the alleged 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 Citibank Visa debit card bearing the number 5262 2611 2797 4764.
Investigators subsequently searched the offices of AA Global Homes Construction Limited at Katamanso in Accra.
During the operation, officers recovered 15 rounds of live 9mm ammunition and one empty 9mm shell casing concealed in a drawer in 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 before 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, obtained a court-issued search warrant to search the accused's residence at Oyarifa.
The search was executed on June 27, 2026, during which investigators recovered several electronic devices, including two mobile phones believed to have been used in the commission of the alleged offences.
The electronic devices have been retained for forensic examination to establish their evidential value and determine the full extent of the accused's alleged involvement in the criminal enterprise.
During investigations, the accused admitted using the recovered Citibank debit card to conduct transactions at both Haatso Shell Filling Station and Osu Total Filling Station.
In his cautioned statement, he claimed that an individual identified as Gail Oneara, whom he said resides in the United States, 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 spent or withdrawn approximately US$8,000 from the card before his arrest.
Investigations were subsequently extended to Ecobank Ghana PLC, where an officer from the Internal Audit Department's Investigation Unit confirmed that the bank had received a fraud complaint from Citibank through Visa International regarding unauthorized transactions carried out on two Citibank customers' debit cards.
Further investigations established that the accused, acting together with accomplices who remain at large, allegedly visited several fuel stations, including Haatso Shell and Osu Total, where he connived with fuel pump attendants to process fictitious fuel purchases using stolen or compromised Citibank 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 instead of fuel, thereby dishonestly obtaining the proceeds of the fraudulent transactions.
The investigation further revealed that the accused allegedly invested the proceeds of the scheme in acquiring substantial assets, including a four-bedroom storey building, a cement block manufacturing factory at Katamanso near Amrahia, a black Nissan ZNA pickup vehicle, and other properties reasonably suspected to have been purchased with proceeds of crime.
Law enforcement agencies are continuing investigations to identify and arrest other members of the criminal network, trace additional assets believed to have been acquired through illicit proceeds, and establish the full extent of the alleged 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 arraigned before the appropriate court, where the matter is currently pending.
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