07-04-2025
12 on trial in Germany for romance scams linked to Nigerian mafia
A trial started in Munich on Monday of 12 suspected members of the Nigerian mafia, accused of love scamming victims into paying them money by feigning a romantic relationship to gain their trust.
The men aged between 33 and 54 have been charged with forming a criminal organization, with the proceedings at the Munich regional court said to be the first large trial targeting the Black Axe confraternity.
Among the defendants is a man believed to be the head of the German offshoot of the mafia-style gang that is known to be involved in money laundering and human trafficking of women for sexual exploitation in Europe.
The Munich trial concerns dozens of romance scam cases, with one woman alone said to have paid some €235,000 ($257,400).
Almost all defendants remained silent as the trial begun, with one rejecting the accusations, according to his lawyer.
Bavarian investigators conducted raids targeting the Black Axe confraternity in April last year, the first crackdown on the group nationwide.
Ahead of the raids, it had been widely unknown that the Nigerian mafia, estimated to have some 30,000 members globally, was also increasingly operating in Germany.
The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office estimates that a three-digit figure is active in the country, with activities believed to be focussed on the southern German state.
According to a report by Bavaria's domestic intelligence agency from 2023, Black Axe is one of four Nigerian mafia-style gangs which emerged from university fraternities in the 1960s and 1970s.
The groups are active globally and involved in illegal drug trading, cybercrime, online fraud, money laundering and human trafficking, according to Bavarian investigators.
In Nigeria, competition between the groups has repeatedly resulted in violence.
The trial at the Munich regional court are likely to drag on for months, with a verdict possibly expected on December 19.
