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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has interrogated a banker and a bureau de change operator over an alleged ₦3.6 billion cash transaction carried out outside the formal banking system, in a move the anti-graft agency says contravene Nigeria’s money laundering laws.
Operatives of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC questioned Abdulkadir Muhammed Usman, a bureau de change operator, and banker Masa Olumense over the alleged non-disclosure and handling of cash payments amounting to $2,598,900, equivalent to about ₦3,638,460,000, without routing the funds through a financial institution.
According to the Commission, the transactions are contrary to Section 2(1) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which regulates cash payments above the statutory threshold for individuals.
The EFCC alleged that the suspects “made and received cash payments to the tune of $2,598,900… without going through a financial institution,” an offence it is currently investigating.
The anti-graft agency disclosed that investigations are ongoing and that it is tracking other suspects believed to be connected to the alleged illicit transactions, who are currently at large.
The EFCC said the probe forms part of its sustained efforts to enforce compliance with Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws and curb the movement of large sums of cash outside the regulated financial system.