Banks hiding stolen wealth should be sanctioned, says Osinbajo

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo says sanctions should be imposed on banks and other financial institutions that are housing looted funds.

Speaking at a conference in Abuja on Monday, Osinbajo said until such measure is taken, developing countries will not go far in the fight against corruption.

“We have to look at somehow delegitimizing those kinds of financial institutions and criminalising them so that banks and financial institutions that actually engage in this are being called out and made to face the consequences of engaging in criminal practices. If that isn’t done we are not likely to go very far,” he said.

“For there to be collaboration there must first be connivance. In the agreements and conventions we will be signing, we must find a way to ensure that financial institutions are not given a free run and hold them accountable.”

He said those who have stolen the country’s resources were fighting the anti-corruption campaign through the media.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the attempt to legitimise corruption, Osinbajo said “unless Nigerians see corruption as a problem “that can bring down our system then we will never be able to fight.”

“If you look at the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria there is a major fight back in the media. There is a media war, between people fighting corruption and those behind the stolen funds,” he said.

“It is called media trial, I don’t know what that means. If you discover for instance large sums of money in an air condition room there is nowhere it will not make news anywhere in the world.”

He said the financial institutions used to transferred these stolen funds should called out and made to face the consequences of engaging in criminal practices.

“Another point is that African countries and developing countries must realize that is our responsibility to ensure not only find get these monies and make sure that there are return. It is not enough to talk about it,” Osinbajo said.

“Some countries are somehow reluctant about it, many have civil processes that makes it difficult, they say our courts are handling this matter and there is very little we can do about.

“We must make it a national call, a call for other developing countries to have the same outrage for drugs, terrorist financing for illicit financial flows.

“We must emphasis at every point and call out institutions that are not co-operating and ensuring that they recognise that this for us a serious issue.”