A Nigerian man has been arrested in Istanbul, Turkey, for allegedly defrauding a Hong Kong dentist of $2.5 million under the pretext of marriage. The suspect, identified as Kingsley O., was taken into custody in Esenyurt along with five accomplices and arraigned in court on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
The Deception Unfolds
The victim, Hong Kong dentist Siu P.Y.F., lost $2.5 million over two years to an individual she met online who introduced himself as 'Richard,' an American businessman, promising marriage. Despite the Hong Kong police's inability to solve the case, Turkish authorities uncovered the scam, revealing the fake groom to be Kingsley, a resident of Istanbul.
In 2020, Siu began communicating with someone on a dating site who claimed to be 'Richard,' a wealthy American businessman. The couple, who only communicated by phone for years, decided to take their relationship to the next level with marriage.
The Fraudulent Scheme
During this process, the fake businessman told the young woman he had come to Istanbul for a large investment and needed cash, asking for her help. Dreaming of marriage, the dentist believed in her love and sent a total of $2.5 million in installments to various bank accounts in Turkey between 2020 and 2022. After receiving the money, 'Richard' vanished and turned off his phone, leaving Siu unable to reach him. Realizing she had been scammed, she applied to the Hong Kong police.
Turkish Investigation
Since the investigation in Hong Kong yielded no results for a long time, the victim authorized a Turkish lawyer and brought her complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Teams from the Istanbul Police Department Public Order Branch Directorate Fraud Bureau scrutinized the bank accounts to which the money was sent. In the first operation, five suspects who owned accounts were detained. While four of them claimed not to remember the incident, one suspect confessed to handing over the money received in the bank account to a Nigerian person he knew as 'Richard.'
Based on this confession, Turkish police deepened technical and physical surveillance and determined that the cyber fraudster, who marketed himself as a wealthy American businessman, was actually Kingsley O., a 43-year-old Nigerian national. Kingsley was caught red-handed in a raid and taken into custody.
Legal Proceedings
Kingsley, brought to the Public Order Branch Directorate in Gayrettepe for questioning, did not accept the allegations against him. The Nigerian and his accomplices, who helped him by using their bank accounts, were referred to court under extensive security measures after their procedures at the police station were completed.
