EFCC
Press Release
Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, has advocated improved financial
intelligence gathering by the anti-graft agency and other law enforcement
agencies in the country to check flow of illicit funds, if the war on terror
must be won.
“A reputable strategy to
fight insurgency is to deprive the insurgents of funds, because there is no
dispute that illicit funds movement across borders fuels organized crimes,
including terror attacks and insurgency in Nigeria,” Lamorde said.
According to him, “There is
an urgent need to strengthen our financial intelligence architecture to enable
us effectively monitor cash trails and check illicit cash flow to organized
criminal gangs.”
Lamorde, who spoke at the
opening ceremony of a five-day inter-agency training programme on, Cross Border Financial Investigation organized
by the United States Department of Homeland Security, for officers of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF;
Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS; Nigeria Customs Service, NCS; National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and the EFCC, stressed that it was of great
concern that “up till now, the major concern in the fight against insurgency is
on how the insurgents fund their operations within the sub-region.”
“While tremendous progress
has been recorded in strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and
the Compliance Regime in Nigeria, monitoring the movement of cash outside the
financial sector, remains a major challenge, because of Nigeria’s predominantly
cash-based economy,” he said.
The
EFCC boss Chairman, also applauded the commitment of the United States
government in assisting Nigeria surmount its contemporary challenges through
institutional development.
His words, “it is gratifying
that this programme is coming a few weeks after the historic visit of President
Muhammadu Buhari, to the United State, where he and President Barack Obama
pledged to deepen the cooperation and friendship between our two countries”.
Lamorde who said he had
always considered the United States as a dependable ally in the fight against
economic crimes and corruption in Nigeria, explained that the record of
partnership between the EFCC and major US institutions, such as the Department
of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, United States Postal
Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, among others, bears testimony
to this.
He said the EFCC has
benefitted from several training programmes organized by US agencies in
Nigeria, Ghana, Malta, Botswana and the United States. He however described the
impact of such exposure on the operations of the Commission as invaluable.
Lamorde who said the focus
of the training programme, Cross Border
Financial Investigation, is most timely considering the challenges that
that confront Nigeria and her neighbors in the areas of money laundering and
terrorist financing said, it has become imperative to strengthen our financial
intelligence architecture to be able to monitor cash trails and check illicit
cash flow to organized criminal gangs.
He said while tremendous
progress has been recorded in strengthening the anti money laundering
regulation and compliance regime in Nigeria, monitoring the movement of cash
outside the financial sector, remains a major challenge, considering that
Nigeria is still predominantly a cash-based economy.
His solace is however in the
fact that the EFCC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have in the last few years taken
very bold steps to check illicit movement of cash across our borders; where
operatives stationed at major international airports across the country have
intercepted millions of dollars in cash, which were not declared to customs by
their owners.
This measure, he recalls,
said accounted for the significant drop in currency outflow outside Nigeria in
2013, as currency declaration dropped from Nine Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Six Million, Seven Hundred
and Thirty Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty Eight Dollars ($9,926,739,648.00) to One Billion,
Three Hundred and Twenty Four Million, Forty Five Thousand, Six Hundred and
Seventeen Dollars ($1,324,045,617.00).
There was a further drop in 2014 as currency
outflows recorded an all- time low of $807,585,061.70.
Deputy Chief of Mission,
United State Embassy, Maria Brewer said that the training programme will expose
participants to new trends and techniques in combating economic and financial
crimes. “Since economic and financial crimes is a global phenomenon, the
training will focus among others, on taking away proceed of crime, because when
you take away the money, you take away why people do crime”, she said.
Other dignitaries at the
opening ceremony included, Benjamin Bryan, acting director, International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement US Mission Abuja; Steve Robinson, Attaché,
Department of Homeland Security Investigation, DHSI; T. A. Hundeyin, Deputy
Comptroller General of Immigration, who represented the NIS boss, and Alhaji
Hamisa Lawal, Commander of Narcotics, who represented the NDLEA boss.
Highpoint of the ceremony
was the donation of a high-tech counting machine to the EFCC. Brewer, who made
the presentation on behalf of the US government, said that it was one way, in
which the President Barack Obama-led administration, planned to assist the EFCC
and the country at large in fighting corruption.
Wilson
Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
17th August, 2015
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