Interpol: Thousands of dollars laundered out of Nigeria every hour

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) says “thousands of dollars” are laundered out of Nigeria every hour.

Garba Umar, vice-president of Interpol (Africa), spoke on Monday at a workshop organised for law enforcement agencies at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) academy in Abuja.

“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region (Africa) 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,” Umar said.

“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.”

Umar said Interpol will come down hard on money launderers with the launch of ‘Silver Notices’ — which intends to make illicit funds more difficult to launder in any part of the world.

Umar said financial crimes are transnational and law enforcement agencies need regular training to intercept fraudsters.

He said the workshop will provide an opportunity for security agents to re-examine the challenges of fighting transnational crimes in the country, reassess their strategies, and “reaffirm our determination and unity as a country to provide security to our citizens and by extension the global community”.

Also speaking, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the EFCC, said collaboration is essential in tackling financial crimes.

Represented by Francis Usani, director of fraud risk assessment and control at the EFCC, Olukoyede said the fight against corruption is complex and requires the support of stakeholders. 

“The daunting nature of the fight against corruption in Nigeria and the world at large deserve serious collaboration among organisations saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption,” he said.