The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) says “thousands of dollars” are laundered out of Nigeria every hour.
Garba Umar, vice-president of Interpol (Africa), spoke on
Monday at a workshop organised for law enforcement agencies at the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) academy in Abuja.
“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands
of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region (Africa) and across the
world, laundered before it reaches the pockets of criminals to enjoy the
profits of their crimes, while the hardworking and honest Nigerians pay the
price of crime,” Umar said.
“With every successful laundering of criminal money, our
country becomes more prone to crime.
“More drugs, more
fraud, more corruption and more violence. Every time criminal money is
successfully laundered, our financial institutions take an additional blow.”
Umar said Interpol will come down hard on money launderers
with the launch of ‘Silver Notices’ — which intends to make illicit funds more
difficult to launder in any part of the world.
Umar said financial crimes are transnational and law
enforcement agencies need regular training to intercept fraudsters.
He said the workshop will provide an opportunity for
security agents to re-examine the challenges of fighting transnational crimes
in the country, reassess their strategies, and “reaffirm our determination and
unity as a country to provide security to our citizens and by extension the
global community”.
Also speaking, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the EFCC, said
collaboration is essential in tackling financial crimes.
Represented by Francis Usani, director of fraud risk
assessment and control at the EFCC, Olukoyede said the fight against corruption
is complex and requires the support of stakeholders.
“The daunting nature of the fight against corruption in
Nigeria and the world at large deserve serious collaboration among
organisations saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption,” he said.
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