ICPC Probes Owners of Abandoned FCT Estates

Kingsley Nwezeh

The Independent Corrupt and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), yesterday, said it had commenced investigations into the ownership of the scores of abandoned housing estates in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

For a long time, estates completed and ready for rentage were abandoned by the owners, who had expected a high return on investment.

The structures, built with suspected looted funds, were said to have been abandoned owing to the the expensive nature of the rent, which was unaffordable to the average FCT resident.

The anti-graft agency said the probe would identify the property that had the hallmarks of illicit financing.

Speaking at a capacity building workshop for investigators, prosecutors and tax inspectors on investigating or prosecuting illicit financial flows, organised by the ICPC in collaboration with Ford Foundation in Abuja, the Director, Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management, ICPC, Mr Kayode Adedayo, affirmed that the investigation was in line with the mandate of the commission to curb corruption.

He said the nation needed a coordinated and concerted approach to fighting IFFs, stating that the law enforcement agencies required continuous investment in capacity building to trace and follow the money.

He harped on the need for implementation and investigation of breaches of the beneficial ownership rule while noting that data availability and intelligence sharing were imperative.

“ICPC in accordance with its mandate to curb corruption is presently investigating cases of the myriad of completed but abandoned estates scattered around the Federal Capital Territory to identify those that are instruments of IFFs.

“Furthermore, we are collaborating with the National Assembly to investigate, study and promulgate appropriate legislation to stem the tide of corruption in the real estate sector,” he said.

Speaking on “Illicit Financial Flows in  Real Estate Sector,” Adedayo revealed that real estate remained a key sector and conduit for the laundering of IFFs globally as a result of poor regulation.

He stated that money laundering in the real estate sector was conducted in collaboration with real estate developers and accomplices in the land administration departments.

“Launderers of  illicit wealth in the Nigerian real estate sector often engage in cash purchases, which are done through the use of foreign exchange often procured from Bureau De Changes. Often, after purchase, the property titles are not changed to reflect the new ownership,” he explained.

Speaking on Investigating Illicit Financial Flows in the Education Sector, the ICPC Director of Operations, Mr Akeem Lawal, said for anti-graft agencies to tackle IFFs in the education sector, they must increase profiling of persons under investigation and their family members.

He said they are expected to conduct networth analysis, bearing in mind the provisions of the Public Service Rules and the Code of Conduct Bureau Act and collaborate with the Nigeria Immigration Service and embassies regarding the travel history of the subject under probe.