The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has cautioned compliance officers of banks in Nigeria against unauthorized disclosure of the commission’s investigation activities to their customers.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a meeting held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, the Executive Chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, through the Acting Zonal Director of the Ibadan Zonal Command of EFCC, ACE I Hauwa Garba Ringim, expressed concern over the unhealthy support fraudsters receive from the banking sector in Nigeria, which is posing considerable challenges and concerns to the commission.
Olukoyede highlighted that the commission has observed that some compliance officers are giving information to customers regarding ‘letters of investigation activities’ written to the banks from the EFCC.
He stressed that such acts often jeopardize the investigation exercise of financial crimes and cause delays in filing corruption cases before the law court.
Therefore, he urged compliance officers to desist from such practices and instead respond to letters received from the commission with certified true copies, including instruments of transactions of beneficiaries or sources, as this will expedite the process of investigation to a logical conclusion.
Furthermore, Olukoyede emphasized the need for compliance officers to stop illegal dealings and trading in naira with Point-of-Sale (POS) operators.
“What we notice and see around lately is that Nigerians can only withdraw a small amount of their money with the banks in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) but POS operators evidently go around with huge amounts of money gotten from the banks.
“This is not fair to Nigerians and we must fight it head-on.”
