EFCC Accuses 10 Banks Of Money Laundering

The appearing Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, the day gone by, accused 10 unnamed commercial banks of cash laundering.

EFCC

He additionally condemned the increasing wave of illicit economic flows and vote shopping for within the usa for the duration of elections.

Speaking in Lagos throughout a round desk assembly with Managing Directors (MDs) of financial institutions, the EFCC boss said: “It is worrisome to be aware that during 2018, records available to the EFCC suggests that out of about 28 commercial banks in Nigeria, 10 banks evacuated out of Nigeria thru Travelex Nigeria Limited, the sums of GBP £50,832,560; USD $8,057,756; EURO #39,986,560 and RAND-7,500,000.

“The motives for these evacuations are nevertheless sketchy. We should note that the impact of illicit financials flows from the usa undermine the stableness and integrity of the monetary institutions.”

The EFCC boss expressed problem, that, the tradition of big cash transactions changed into nevertheless being allowed in some banks, including that there was no commensurate reporting of these transactions to the applicable companies.

According to him, the banks still perform bills with out Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and feature remained complacent in reporting those debts to the applicable authorities, or freezing them according with CBN policy.

“The banks are rather complacent in managing crypto-foreign money or bitcoins because the case may be and feature not taken measures to monitor such transactions or positioned ok surveillance on such accounts. The banks are discovered to nevertheless preserve customers debts of their suspense bills, making it hard for law enforcement groups to hint and have access to those price range,” he observed.

According to him, intelligence reports have shown, that, banks are aiding their clients to get hold of foreign financial inflow to their accounts in neighbouring countries, wherein they have got branches like Ghana, Republic of Niger and different West African nations.

“The cash is then couriered into Nigeria thru the land borders to circumvent announcement and reporting,” he said.

He introduced that banks had the dependancy of underneath-reporting transactions in a few cases at the same time as carrying out shielding submitting of transactions after they were consummated.

Describing them as “gatekeepers”, Magu said no united states could manage illicit economic flows without the cooperation of financial institutions.

He, therefore, charged the managing directors to sign up for hands with the Commission to save the us of a from being hijacked by using criminals.

Magu, who spoke on the subject: “Roles and Obligations of Managing Directors of Banks in Nigeria in Curbing Vote Buying During an Election, Illicit Financial Flows and Other Related Matters in Nigeria,” recalled that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in the course of a meeting with Bankers’ Committee, someday in September 2018, made a dedication to work with the EFCC and the banks to curb this risk.

He said illicit economic flows will lessen the amount of assets available to the authorities to provide critical social offerings to the citizenry.

Speaking on vote shopping for for the duration of elections, Magu asserted that it’d prevent credible candidates from strolling for political places of work.

He said: “in Nigeria, vote shopping for has reached an alarming share, to the quantity that politicians have now unfold their tentacles to election officers, safety companies, election observers and even the media.”