EFCC Gives Banks Fresh Directives On Ongoing Investigations

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged compliance officers of banks across the country to refrain from disclosing unauthorized information about EFCC’s investigation activities and requests for information from banks to their customers.

The Executive Chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, made the declaration during a meeting with bank compliance officers in Ibadan.

Olukoyede, speaking through the Acting Zonal Director of the Ibadan Zonal Command of the EFCC, Hauwa Garba Ringim, stated that the commission is aware that some compliance officers are providing information to customers.

The commission boss condemned the banking sector in Nigeria for its unhealthy support of fraudsters, highlighting the significant challenges and concerns it poses to the commission.

He stated that the EFCC is aware of compliance officers providing their clients with information regarding letters of investigation activity from the EFCC.

Olukoyede argued that such attempts usually hinder financial crime investigations and delay corruption cases from reaching court.

The head of EFCC advised recipients to respond promptly to the Commission’s letters with certified true copies of instruments of transactions of beneficiaries or sources, as it will facilitate investigations to a conclusive end.

Olukoyede emphasized the need to put an end to illegal trading in naira with Point-of-sale (POS) operators.

The head of EFCC expressed his concern over the recent trend of Nigerian banks allowing only small amounts of money to be withdrawn from ATMs, while POS operators are able to move around with large sums of money obtained from banks.

Olukoyede believes that this is unfair to Nigerian citizens and must be addressed immediately.