Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has issued a stern warning to Compliance Officers of Banks across Nigeria, urging them to refrain from unauthorized disclosure of the EFCC’s investigation activities and requests made to banks’ customers.
In a statement released by Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity for the EFCC, Olukoyede expressed concern over the unhealthy support fraudsters receive from the banking sector in Nigeria, citing significant challenges faced by the commission as a result.
During a stakeholders’ meeting with Compliance Officers of Banks in Oyo State, facilitated by the Acting Zonal Director of the Ibadan Zonal Command, Hauwa Garba Ringim, Olukoyede emphasized the detrimental impact of compliance officers sharing information with clients regarding letters of investigation activities issued by the EFCC to banks.
“The act usually jeopardizes the investigation exercise of financial crimes and delays corruption cases from being filed before the law court,” Olukoyede remarked.
He urged compliance officers to consistently respond to letters received from the Commission with certified true copies of instruments of transactions of beneficiaries or sources. This, he explained, would expedite the investigative processes and lead to a logical conclusion.
Furthermore, Olukoyede highlighted the need to curb illegal dealings and trading in naira with Point-of-sale (POS) operators, noting discrepancies between withdrawal limits at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and the large sums of money handled by POS operators.
“What we notice and see around lately is that Nigerians can only withdraw a small amount of their money with the banks in Automated Teller Machine but POS operators evidently go around with huge amounts of money gotten from the banks. This is not fair to Nigerians and we must fight it head-on,” he emphasized.
Despite these challenges, Olukoyede assured compliance officers of the EFCC’s unwavering support, acknowledging their role as essential stakeholders in the fight against economic and financial crimes.
