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Pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday alleged
that a lot of investments that are done in the country are
from funds earned through illegal activities.
The Adamawa PDP candidate in the April 11 governorship
polls, also identified illicit financial activities such as
terrorism financing and money laundering, as the major
obstacles to the country’s quest for development.
Ribadu spoke in Abuja at the 2nd Anti-Money Laundering/
Combating Financial Terrorism Stakeholders Consultative
Workshop, organised by the Association of Certified Anti-
Money Laundering Specialists.
According to the former anti-corruption czar, Nigeria had
yet to maximise its potential owing to terrorism financing and
other money laundering activities, noting that the country lost
huge amount of money though such activities.
He said, “Everything that is wrong about Nigeria has to do
with dirty money. If you can follow it, get it back and
punish these people, then you have cured the problem of
Nigeria.
“When I look around, I see a lot of investments that were
done with dirty money. Government needs help in identifying
and catching these people.
“Though, it may seem like a daunting task, but with
professionals like ACAMS, Nigeria is already poised to
achieving this”.
In order to check the trend, Ribadu said there was the need
for collaboration between relevant stakeholders to fight money
laundering and terrorism financing.
He called for the building of a strong anti-graft institution
to spearhead the fight against money laundering, adding that
the restructuring of the banking sector had also helped to
restore confidence in the Nigerian economy.
He said, “In 2003, Nigeria was on the black list of most
developed countries, especially US, for money laundering.
This meant that our financial institutions found it difficult
doing business in foreign lands.
“We could not use Mastercard, Visacard or credit card.
Our financial institutions could not access international
loans. At one time, it was almost impossible for a Nigerian
to open an account in the US or UK.
“Nigerians, travelling abroad, were subjected to serious
scrutiny relating to drugs, terrorism and money laundering.
The list is endless.
“But now, things are changing. Nigerian banks are now
listed on the London Stock Exchange and getting access to
foreign loans. This is a sign of improvement; however, more
can be done”.
The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability,
Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Okwu Nnanna, said there
was the need to regulate the use of “virtual currencies” in
order to curb money laundering.
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