A Nigerian national alleged to have links to an international cyber-enabled financial crime syndicate has been arrested and charged following a joint intelligence-led operation by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) and the Ghana Police Service, with support from the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The suspect, Aderinsola Oluwanifemi Adeleye, had reportedly become a person of significant investigative interest to INTERPOL and the FBI over alleged transnational financial crimes involving compromised United States-issued bank cards.

According to investigators, the operation followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance into an alleged international cybercrime network.

Investigations began on 25 June 2026 after the manager of the Haatso Shell Filling Station reported suspicious Point of Sale (POS) transactions involving two Citibank debit cards issued in the United States. The complaint followed information from Shell Headquarters after Ecobank Ghana PLC flagged the transactions.

Investigators traced the disputed transactions to POS terminals at Haatso Shell Filling Station and Osu Total Filling Station. Two fuel pump attendants were arrested and allegedly told investigators that Adeleye and another accomplice had repeatedly used Citibank debit cards through mobile devices to carry out fraudulent transactions.

Police arrested the suspect after he allegedly returned to the Haatso Shell Filling Station later the same day to conduct another transaction. A search led to the recovery of a Beretta pistol loaded with two rounds of 9mm ammunition and a Citibank VISA debit card.

A subsequent search of the offices of AA Global Homes Construction Limited at Katamanso uncovered 15 rounds of 9mm live ammunition and an empty 9mm shell casing. Investigators also searched the suspect's residence at Oyarifa under a court-issued warrant, recovering two mobile phones for forensic examination.

Investigators said the suspect admitted using the recovered Citibank debit card at both the Haatso Shell and Osu Total filling stations. In his cautioned statement, he allegedly said the card had been sent to him by a person identified as Gail Oneara, who he claimed lives in the United States, with an available balance of about US$10,000. He further admitted to having used approximately US$8,000 before his arrest.

Ecobank Ghana's Internal Audit Department later confirmed it had received a fraud complaint from Citibank through VISA International concerning unauthorised transactions on two customers' debit cards.

Investigators allege that the suspect, together with accomplices still at large, connived with fuel station attendants to process fictitious fuel purchases using stolen or compromised Citibank debit cards before receiving cash instead of fuel.

Authorities further allege that proceeds from the suspected fraud were used to acquire assets, including a four-bedroom house, a cement block manufacturing factory at Katamanso near Amrahia, a black Nissan ZNA pick-up vehicle and other properties believed to have been purchased with proceeds of crime.

The Cyber Security Authority and the Ghana Police Service say investigations are continuing to identify other members of the alleged syndicate, trace additional assets and determine the full extent of the suspected fraud. Electronic devices recovered during the searches are undergoing forensic examination.

The accused has been formally charged and is standing trial before the appropriate court.