Madagascar Crackdown Reveals Transnational Scam Network Targeting African Workers and English‑Speaking Nations

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – Recent raids on online scam hubs in Madagascar have uncovered connections to a criminal network previously active in Cambodia, which also targeted African nationals through alleged human‑trafficking schemes, authorities said in a statement to AFP.

The operation focused on romance, cryptocurrency and investment scams run chiefly by Chinese nationals; Madagascar’s justice ministry reported that 148 individuals have been extradited to China.

Thirteen Chinese‑linked scam compounds were dismantled during joint operations in August and September carried out with the U.S. Department of Justice, the ministry added.

U.S. authorities reported seizing roughly $52 million in cryptocurrency in a single day and processing over 3,200 electronic devices as part of the sweep.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned last year that such networks were expanding, especially into Southern Africa.

Eleven Chinese nationals arrested in the crackdown were unexpectedly released from a Malagasy prison in August, sparking a high‑profile scandal that appears to involve the prison service’s chief.

Meanwhile, several African nationals remain in custody, despite early indications that they may have been trafficked.

Recruitment via social media – As seen in Southeast Asian operations, the Madagascar scam centers are said to have lured Africans to the island through social‑media postings promising jobs.

Authorities said about 20 individuals from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe were among those held.

“According to their statements, they were recruited via Facebook to work in Madagascar in the commercial sector,” police crime‑unit chief Hassan Mouigni told AFP.

“However, upon arrival, most of their passports were confiscated by the boss and they were forced to conduct scams,” he said. “They were victims of deception.”

A Malaysian national, identified as Chui Kok Wa, was charged with operating a romance‑scam scheme from a villa in Antananarivo’s upscale Ivato district, U.S. authorities said.

“From his visa, we learned he first entered Madagascar in 2024 and had previously been in Cambodia,” Mouigni said.

The Department of Justice stated that his criminal group, which has ties to Malaysia and China, set up scam compounds in Madagascar in early 2025, probably relocating there after law‑enforcement actions in Cambodia.

Tsitohaina Ralihivao, coordinator of Madagascar’s communications ministry cybercrime unit, linked the case to a 2025 crackdown on scam compounds in Cambodia near its Thai border, where military clashes also occurred.

Relocation – An FBI court filing, shared by the DoJ, reached a similar conclusion after interviewing three Brazilian nationals who worked at a scam compound in Antananarivo.

“The witnesses said they initially answered online job ads and ended up working at a compound in Cambodia. Later, partly because of an armed conflict between Cambodia and Thailand and in response to Cambodian police actions against scam compounds, they were transferred to Antananarivo, Madagascar, in early May 2026,” the document said.

“Cyber‑scam centers are increasingly opening in Africa as operations are shut down in Southeast Asia,” the FBI said.

U.S. authorities intervened because the centers “primarily targeted English‑speaking nations,” including the United States, Canada and Pakistan, Mouigni noted.

“This created a demand for recruits from English‑speaking African countries,” Ralihivao added.

Their presence has not gone unnoticed in the capital, authorities said.

“Initially they rented modest villas, but what drew attention was their shift to renting entire hotels,” Mouigni said.

The alleged leader of one of the compounds, based at the Live Hotel, was a Chinese national who was among those extradited to Beijing.

As with all Chinese nationals identified as leaders, he could not be questioned by the FBI, a U.S. federal police official noted in court papers.

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