The International Police Organisation’s investigation has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being laundered out of Nigeria across the world.
This disclosure was made in Abuja on Monday by the Interpol Vice President for Africa, Garba Umar, while declaring open a four-day training workshop for Nigerian law enforcement agencies at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy, Abuja.
According to Umar, money laundering across Africa and the entire world has assumed a monstrous dimension and Interpol has designed Silver Notices to combat the menace.
“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region and across the world, laundered before it reaches the pockets of criminals to enjoy the profits of their crimes, while the hardworking and honest Nigerians pay the price of crime”
“With every successful laundering of criminal money, our country becomes more prone to crime. More drugs, more fraud, more corruption and more violence. Every time criminal money is successfully laundered, our financial institutions take an additional blow,” he said.
He stressed that hard times awaited money launderers as the Silver Notices would make illicit funds more difficult to launder in any part of the world.
Speaking on the theme of the Workshop: Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Financial Crimes, Umar pointed out that financial crimes had become transnational and law enforcement agencies needed regular training for their workforce to be ahead of fraudsters
He urged participants at the workshop to make it a duty to discuss and learn about transnational crimes affecting their regions, identify possible solutions through a review of policing capabilities to support the country, and facilitate direct and in-person interaction amongst law enforcement networks across the country.
“In essence, this Workshop will allow us to re-examine the challenges of fighting transnational crimes in the country, reassess our strategies, and reaffirm our determination and unity as a country to provide security to our citizens and by extension the global community,” he said.
Umar charged all participants at the workshop to take collaboration with other law enforcement agencies seriously, to advance their investigations and ensure that criminals do not get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
“The only way we can move forward as a country is by working together and identifying common problems, jointly devising solutions, and taking coordinated and cohesive action. And now is the time that we need to go far, by going together, he said.
Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede in his goodwill message, also harped on the need for enhanced collaboration in tackling financial crimes.
He particularly stressed that the complex nature of corruption across the world could only be broken by the might of collaborative actions by every stakeholder. “The daunting nature of the fight against corruption in Nigeria and the world at large deserve serious collaboration among organizations saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption”, he said.
Olukoyede, who spoke through the Director, Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC, of the EFCC, Francis Usani, appraised the pivotal role of the EFCC in tackling corrupt practices, especially its impressive records of convictions and recoveries, and expressed optimism that with the new emphasis on the preventive framework in tackling financial crimes by the commission, greater progress would be made.
“Our records of convictions and recoveries stand us out, but we will not rest on our oars, we are committed to doing more and in this commitment, the EFCC is re-strategising its operations with a focus on prevention knowing that it is easier and cheaper to prevent corruption from happening than investigating and prosecuting corruption,” he said.
In his remark, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria, Kazuyoshi Matsunaga, described the workshop as an important joint initiative between Japan and Nigeria to combat financial crimes.
He explained that in the contemporary globalised world, financial crimes transcended borders and required international cooperation among law enforcement agencies to combat them.
“I am delighted that INTERPOL and the Japanese National Police Agency are an integral part of this project, contributing their expertise. A remarkable collaboration took place three years ago when Japanese and Nigerian law enforcement agencies successfully returned a fund to a Japanese fraud victim, earning immense gratitude. Strengthening our partnership through this project will benefit not only Nigerians but people around the world, including the Japanese,” he said.
Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, Hafsat Bakare, spoke about the imperative of strengthening capacity and coordination against financial crimes, pointing out that “ financial intelligence and financial analysis techniques are key to tackling economic crimes”.
“The NFIU, she said, was sensitive to the interconnected nature of the criminal justice system, the threat of organised crime, and cybercrimes being fought by law enforcement agencies.
She expressed optimism that the training law enforcement officers would receive at the Workshop would “ sustain efforts being made to ensure that Nigeria exits the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force possibly by mid-2025.”