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Nigeria: Antigraft agency EFCC says 70% of financial crimes traceable to banks

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2024

Banks are implicated in about 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This was revealed by EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukayode, during a speech at the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria’s 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting in Abuja. He pointed out that the banking sector was increasingly becoming a cesspool of fraudulent activities, and this had been raising considerable challenges and concerns for the commission.

Olukayode, who was represented by the Director, Internal Audit, EFCC, Idowu Apejoye, said there was a need for concerted effort by relevant authorities and professionals, especially audit executives, to prevent and tackle issues of fraudulent practices in the sector.

He said, “Broadly speaking, banking fraud in Nigeria is both inside and outside related. Inside-related fraud comprises outright selling of customers’ deposits, authorising loan facilities, forgery and several other kinds of unhealthy and criminal practices.

“The outsider related ones include hacking, ATM fraud, and conspiracy, among others. And then the absurd one is when both collaborate—that is, collaboration among the bankers and the outsiders.

“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% of financial crimes in Nigeria are traceable to the banking sector, this scenario is disturbing and unacceptable.”

Olukayode said that ACAEBIN should make sure that accounts are properly reconciled each month in compliance with accounting regulations in order to stop the inconsistencies.

He gave the group tasks like keeping an eye on banks’ financial operations, comparing actual and planned revenue and expenses, conducting periodic assessments, and conducting checks.

Prince Akamadu, the chairman of ACAEBIN, declared that the organisation would strive to implement some of the suggestions made by the head of the EFCC.

He added that one of the goals of the retreat was to address the association’s complete commitment to resolving Nigeria’s foreign currency problems.

“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 sanitising the system? Are there things the banks could do to help in sanitising the FX in this country?”

“By the end of this retreat, we are expected to come up with a communique, and we hope to address some of the issues, one way or another, that will address the role of banks in FX challenges in this industry.”

For the past year, e-payment channels like computer/web, mobile, and point of sale have continued to be targeted by scammers. FITC’s “Reports on Frauds and Forgeries in Nigerian Banks” show that banks record 78,584 occurrences of online fraud annually, indicating that the growth of electronic payments has allowed for the persistence of this crime.

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

16 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.