KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Three defendants were arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy to kidnap people and use weapons of mass destruction in a foreign country, officials stated.
Claude N. Chi, 40, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Francis Chenyi, 49, of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Lah Nestor Langmi, 46, of Buffalo, New York, all of whom are U.S. citizens of Cameroonian origin, are charged in a four-count indictment.
The federal indictment alleges that Chi, Chenyi and Langmi have supported and raised funds for separatist fighters in Cameroon since Jan. 1, 2018.
As alleged, they each held senior-level positions within an organization that supported the militant separatist group known as the Ambazonian Restoration Forces and other separatist fighters in Cameroon’s Northwest Region.
Chi, Chenyi and Langmi allegedly raised funds for equipment, supplies, weapons and explosive materials to be used in attacks against Cameroonian government personnel, security forces and property, along with other civilians believed to be enabling the government.
These funds were raised through online chat applications and payment platforms from individuals located in the United States and abroad.
The funds were then transferred from various financial and cryptocurrency accounts controlled by the defendants through intermediaries to the separatist fighters to support attacks in Cameroon.
In addition to more than $350,000 the defendants raised through voluntary donations, the indictment alleges Chi, Chenyi, and Langmi conspired with others to kidnap civilians in Cameroon and hold them for ransom.
In some instances, U.S. citizens were extorted for ransom payments to secure the release of their kidnapped relatives living in Cameroon.
The ransom payments were subsequently transferred to the separatist fighters to fund their operations.
According to the indictment, the defendants authored a document that included a list of expenditures related to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), firearms and ammunition.
Other expenditures included funds related to the kidnapping of Cardinal Christian Tumi and a Cameroonian traditional leader named Sehm Mbinglo II on November 5, 2020.
Chi, Chenyi and Langmi are charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources intended to be used to carry out a conspiracy to kill, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country and one count of providing material support or resources intended to be used to carry out a conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.
They are additionally charged with one count of receiving money from a ransom demand and one count of participating in a money laundering conspiracy.
If convicted of the charges, each defendant faces lengthy prison sentences.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Blackwood for the Western District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case.