Security agencies in collaboration with banks and other financial institutions in the country are monitoring accounts belonging to foreign embassies, politically exposed persons and other high net worth individuals.
Investigations by The PUNCH’s showed such accounts were those that could be used to launder money and finance terrorism.
It was gathered that security agencies categorised politically exposed persons as individuals entrusted with prominent public offices in Nigeria or foreign embassies and officials as well as people associated with them.
They also include former heads of state; state governors; local government chairmen , senior government, and political party officials and their family members.
Also being monitored are accounts of former governors, ex- local government chairmen, ex-senior government officials and their counterparts in the judiciary.
Investigations showed that the monitoring system was activated in late 2012 as part of security strategies to cut off the sources of funding for terrorism and other criminal enterprises in the country.
It was learnt on Sunday that the monitoring strategy was based on the Central Bank of Nigeria risk-based supervision framework.
Security sources told one of our correspondents that certain embassies or foreign consulate accounts which posed a higher risk in the areas of terrorism funding were getting special attention from officials.
It was learnt that the officials were expected to file reports on their monthly transactions with the CBN and appropriate security agency(cies) for analysis and action.
The banks are said to ‘redflag’ accounts where substantial currency transactions take place, particularly if it was owned by countries that have been designated as higher risk . Such countries include Iran, Mauritania, Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and other nations associated with violent Islamic groups.
Some Nigerians involved in terror-related activities are believed to have been trained in Yemen, Pakistan, Mali, Mauritania and others.
One of the security sources said on Sunday that, “Banks are expected to redflag accounts belonging to certain embassies or politically exposed persons like governors especially if the account activity is not consistent with the purpose of the account.
“Ongoing monitoring of embassy and foreign consulate account relationships is critical to ensuring that the account relationships are being used as expected.”
It was learnt that security agencies had identified prepaid credit/debit cards as a source of criminal funding based on the fact that some card holders use false identification and also load cash from illicit sources onto their cards.
According to our source, such card holders usually send transfer funds to their accomplices inside or outside the country for criminal activities.
Investigations indicated that prepaid cards were being used as illegal cash transfer point by criminal-minded individuals on account of the anonymity of the cardholder, fictitious cardholder information, easy cash access of the card and the huge volume of funds that could be transacted on the card.
The fact that credit card can easily be used and reloaded from any geographical point that has an ATM machine, makes it the preferred tool for money laundering ,it was gathered.
It was also learnt that each bank was required to submit the financial transactions of at least 50 of its most active customers who must include PEPs, private investment companies, Non-Governmental Organisations, consulate accounts, brokers, and anyone with access to government assets.
The State Security Service, police and immigration are also investigating the nationals of some countries tagged “nations sponsoring terrorism.”
When contacted, Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, denied knowledge of such accounts being placed on surveillance.
He said, “This is news to me, I am hearing it for the first time from you.”
The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba said the police were doing everything possible to check terrorism, stressing that the Force was deploying every necessary strategy to check crimes in the country.
“I won’t say the police are working with banks to monitor every bank accounts, but we are actively deploying our strategies in checking terrorism by cutting off their sources of funding,” he stated.
SUNDAY PUNCH had earlier reported that security agents were on the trail of three different foreign-sponsored terror cells in the country.
A senior security official had identified the sponsors of the terror cells as being resident in Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. The terror cells were similar to the Iranian cell uncovered by the State Security Service last month.
The SSS had also paraded a leader of an Islamic sect, Abdullahi Berende, and two others said to be members of the Iranian terror cell gathering information about Israelis and Americans living in Nigeria.
Fifty-year-old Berende, Sulaiman Saka and Saheed Adewunmi, were said to be working for Iranian terrorists planning to attack Americans and Israelis in the country. A third suspect, Bunyamin Yusuf, is said to be at large.
But Iran denied the allegations by Nigeria that it had trained militants arrested in Nigeria on planning attacks on US and Israeli targets in the country.
Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said such allegations were “made up as the result of the ill will of the enemies of the two countries’ good relations.”
“Iran and Nigeria have friendly and close relations, and despite the vast efforts of the two countries’ enemies in recent years, relations and co-operations have always improved,” he said.
(Sunday Punch)
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