The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stated that banks were involved in about 70 per cent of financial crimes committed in Nigeria. This was made known by EFCC’s Director of Internal Audit, Idowu Apejoye who represented the EFCC Chariman, Ola Olukayode at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN).
He said, “Broadly speaking, banking fraud in Nigeria is both inside and outside related. The inside related fraud companies outright selling of customers’ deposits, authorizing loan facilities, forgery and several other kinds of unhealthy and criminal practices.
“The outsider related ones include hacking, ATM fraud, conspiracy, among others. And then the absurd one is when both collaborate, that is collaboration among the bankers and the outsider.
“That one is the one that is really absurd because when you do that, that means you are selling out the system. It is estimated that about 70 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are traceable to the banking sector, this scenario is disturbing and unacceptable.”
The EFCC Chairman urged the Association to monitor banks financial activities, conduct periodical review, compare actual and budgeted revenue with expenses, among others.
In his remarks, the Chairman of ACAEBIN, Prince Akamadu stated that the Association would work towards implementing some of the recommendations provided by the EFCC Chairman, adding that the Association was committed to solving the foreign exchange issues in Nigeria, which was one of the issues the retreat aimed to address.
Akamadu said, “That is part of the reason why we are having this retreat, to ask ourselves, to do an introspection and ask ourselves, given our position in the banking industry or the executives of banks in Nigeria, are we doing enough?
“Have we done enough? What more can we do to help in sanitizing the system? Are there things the banks could do to help in sanitizing the FX in this country?
“By the end of this retreat, we are expected to come up with communiqué and we hope to address some of the issues, one way or the other, that will address the role of banks in FX challenges in this industry.”
