Tosin Ogunrinde
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the commission has recovered a total of N1.3 trillion from financial crimes within the past three and a half years.
Olukoyede made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja, stating that the recoveries were recorded between June 1, 2023, and June 30, 2026.
The EFCC chairman also revealed that 234 cases involving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators are currently under investigation, while 72 convictions have been secured in related matters.
According to him, the commission’s investigations have covered various categories of financial crimes, including advance fee fraud, bank fraud, economic governance fraud, money laundering, procurement fraud, cybercrime, extractive industry fraud, land and property fraud, as well as tax fraud.
Olukoyede further defended the EFCC’s recent policy on the management and auctioning of recovered assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), saying the move is within the commission’s legal mandate.
He added that the EFCC would launch a 24-hour rapid response centre in September to enable members of the public to report economic and financial crimes more efficiently.
The EFCC boss also disclosed that 50 members of staff have been dismissed by the commission in the last three years, with five of them currently facing prosecution.
More details later.
