EFCC to prosecute bank executives for aiding money laundering

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it will soon commence prosecution of bank executives found guilty of aiding money laundering in the country.

Speaking at the 17th annual conference of the Chartered Institute Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the EFCC, said the commission has carried out its investigations and necessary documents are being prepared ahead of prosecution.

“We have also compiled our documents, we have made the necessary investigation. Very soon, you will see some banks being prosecuted, some top officials being prosecuted,” he said.

Olukoyede said findings revealed complicity in money laundering, illegal forex sales and trading, and fraudulent charges imposed on depositors by bank officials.

He emphasised that the lack of penal consequences for criminal infractions in the sector could threaten the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system.

“Operators frequently devise means to circumvent regulations and rules in a desperate bid for higher yields and bottom line,” he said.

“Sharp practices such as forex trading, defrauding of depositors through phantom charges, and complicity in money laundering and illicit financial schemes involving politically exposed persons continue to undermine the integrity of the sector and, by extension, the nation’s economy.

“We need to just do something drastic to bring everybody in line and to make us do the right thing. It’s extremely important. In a system where there is no penal sanction for criminal infraction, that system will never survive.”