Bawa: New Law Will Curb Money Laundered Through Law Firms, Real Estate
•EFCC radio launches soon
Wale Igbintade
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has disclosed that the newly signed anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism, and crime proceeds law would curb the rate at which funds were being laundered through law firms, real estate, certified geologists, and other professional bodies in the country.
Bawa, who hinted that, because of his belief that some of the crimes could be prevented if the members of the public had the right information, added that it was for same reason of intensifying public enlightenment and engagements that the agency would formally launch an EFCC Radio soon.
President Muhammadu Buhari, had on May 12, 2022, signed into law, three bills, namely, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022.
However, speaking at a workshop on “Financial Crimes Reporting”, organised for journalists, at the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos, the EFCC Chairman said the new law has criminalised the operation of numbered accounts and mandates financial institutions to ascertain the beneficial owners of accounts before opening such accounts.
He said the anti-money laundering law would reveal through investigation if the money paid to lawyers was for professional fees or money laundering.
The EFCC boss, who spoke via zoom said, “I cannot end this remark, without sharing experience with you on certain developments in fraud investigation. I am sure that most of us are aware of the legislative reforms that recently birthed the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“There are certain provisions of this new law that I believe will affect you directly or indirectly. One is the secrecy of financial transactions. The new law criminalises the operation of numbered accounts and mandates financial institutions to ascertain the beneficial owners of accounts before opening such accounts.
“There is a more robust requirement for due diligence and reporting obligation by financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, SCUML.”
The EFCC Chairman also disclosed that the Commission as at of October 7, 2022, had secured 2701 convictions, while the Commission has also recovered assets running into several billions of naira.
He said, “In 2021, the Commission secured 2,220 convictions. This has jumped to 2,701 by October 7, 2022. Assets running into several billions of naira have also been recovered by the commission. In spite of these, we are not resting on our laurels because there are more ground to be covered.
“We believe that more needs to be done to deter citizens from getting involved in financial crimes and discourage the theft of public resources. We believe that some of these crimes could be prevented if the members of the public have the right information. It is, for this reason, we are intensifying our public enlightenment engagements which, in a few weeks’ time will witness the formal launch of the EFCC Radio.”
He, however, commended the media for assisting the commission in its fight against corruption, saying, “Many of you have played commendable roles in bringing the efforts of the Commission at combating corruption and economic and financial crimes to the front burner and improving public consciousness about the ills of financial crimes. We can only ask for more support, while also urging you to do your work with the utmost sense of responsibility.
“I would like to state that this gathering is evidence of the importance that the EFCC attaches to the media as a partner in the fight against economic and financial crimes.
“The role of the media in projecting the work of the EFCC over the last 19 years is remarkable. It is only fitting that we reciprocate by seeking to further expand your capacity to deliver this onerous national duty in expanding the space of transparency and accountability in our public life.
“Even with all the milestones recorded by the commission since its inception, EFCC has never been under the illusion that it could fight and win the war on corruption without the support of other stakeholders. As the fourth Estate of the realm, the media has a constitutional responsibility to fight corruption and other forms of economic and financial crimes.
“The EFCC will like to see greater collaboration and information sharing between the media and the commission. By the nature of your work, you are able to mine rich veins of information from a range of sources and this is an invaluable resource that will help us to do our job better where it is shared.”
He, therefore, said the commission was unwavering in its commitment to fighting all forms of economic crimes in Nigeria, adding that, “Without sounding immodest, our record over the years distinguishes the EFCC, as perhaps, the most effective law enforcement agency in Nigeria.
“We have strived to up the ante since my appointment over one year ago. In my time in charge, we have engineered a number of reforms and restructuring, which impact are already being seen in terms of the number of stolen assets recovered and convictions for financial crimes.”
