‘We Won’t Wait For Looters To Finish Stealing’ – EFCC Announces Change Of Strategy

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has formally changed its approach in the fight against financial crimes, from tracing stolen funds after the fact to preventing suspicious transactions just before the money vanishes.

This was disclosed on Monday in Abuja by the Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ola Olukoyede, during an interactive session with newsmen to mark his third year at the helm of the commission.

EFCC chairman said instead of waiting for complex criminal cases to take years to resolve while assets disappear, the agency has set up a special unit, called the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department (FRAC), to track, flag and freeze suspicious accounts within 72 hours.

Olukoyede, who explained the reason for the sudden change of approach, queried why it is always the public purse that is emptied before any action is taken.

“Why do we have to wait for money to be robbed? We intervene and freeze when we see suspicious money flows. He asked, pending 72 hours. “We ask where is this money going?

He gave examples of public money being transferred from local government accounts to corporate accounts and then into cryptocurrency wallets within 24 hours.

Olukoyede regretted that corrupt public officials in the country now recruit young tech-savvy persons to convert the looted public funds into virtual assets, thus making recovery difficult.

“On one push of a button, you can bring down the entire banking industry in Nigeria. Most of the data we are investigating now, you can’t trace tangible assets to them,” he said.

Olukoyede disclosed that about 40 digital asset platforms have been licensed in Nigeria in a bid to curb the rising trend of virtual asset laundering, adding that the EFCC now has the technical capacity to trace registered wallets.

The commission also worked with security agencies to establish a national confiscation wallet for all confiscated cryptocurrencies with the consent of the president.

“One of the problems we used to have was where do you put the confiscated virtual assets? We put them into a national wallet today,” Olukoyede added.

On legal tactics, the EFCC boss said the agency is concentrating on civil asset forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, rather than getting itself entangled in endless criminal litigation.

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“This is quicker and more speedy than a criminal trial. “We don’t have to wait 10, 15 years when witnesses die and assets are dissipated,” he said.

The commission can also invoke civil forfeiture, filing a direct suit against the suspect asset itself, and placing the burden on anyone claiming ownership to explain the legitimate source of the money used to purchase it. This approach has already produced big results in a number of high-profile cases involving former public officeholders,” he added.

Olukoyede said the commission no longer manages forfeited properties directly, as it strictly adheres to the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2022 to clear the air on the handling of seized items.

Instead, a specialized Process and Proceeds Management (PCM) directorate now assigns experts, estate managers for real estate, stock market professionals for financial assets and broadcast experts for media outfits, to run the properties efficiently.

Fast depreciating properties caught up in court litigation are also being auctioned off and the proceeds are deposited into secure escrow accounts, pending final judicial determination, he added.

The EFCC boss also disclosed that new management teams had been constituted to run the high-profile hotels recently forfeited in Lagos, while commercial banks had been directed to pay all operational income directly to the commission.

Olukoyede ended with a call to the media and civil society organizations to resume their role as active watchdogs, stressing that systemic leak-blocking and institutional reforms are far more effective than law enforcement alone.

“The system of law enforcement is not the most efficient. “It is the policy regime, institutional reforms that seal leakages,” the EFCC Chairman said.