Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says crooked politicians and fraudsters are increasingly hiding their proceeds from criminal activities in cryptocurrencies to evade detection.
Speaking at an event to mark Africa Anti-Corruption Day in Abuja on Tuesday July 10, Olukoyede described virtual assets fraud and dubious investment schemes as fast-emerging threats that could soon outpace traditional money laundering in Africa.
Represented by the Kaduna Acting Zonal Director of the Commission, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, the EFCC boss lamented that the continent continues to suffer staggering losses running into billions of dollars annually through illicit financial flows, with money laundering still topping the chart. However, he warned that virtual assets fraud is now rapidly taking centre stage.
“Another rising criminal engagement that has the potential to outpace even money laundering is virtual assets and investment scams,” Olukoyede said
He explained that virtual assets from cryptocurrencies to digital tokens built on blockchain are not inherently illegal. But he warned that technology’s dizzying pace has also given criminals fresh avenues to divert and conceal stolen wealth.
“Fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies. Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets, and payments for services are being routed through this channel.”
The EFCC boss further linked the boom in digital assets misuse to the surge in shady investment platforms that promise mouth-watering returns but end up defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians.
He assured Nigerians that the Commission is not daunted.
“Virtual assets fraud and investment scam are not hard nuts to crack. Our proactive, broad-based training and intelligence are already exposing these schemes. We have enormous proofs of operational successes, especially our breakthrough in the investigation and prosecution of the infamous CBEX scam.”he said.
Olukoyede decried how investment fraud including Ponzi schemes is spreading like wildfire across Africa, exploiting desperate investors and deepening economic misery. “Every exploitation of investors in any guise is considered a fraudulent act,” he insisted.
“Many victims of CBEX might have avoided losses if they had done proper checks. Investors hardly file suspicious transaction reports to the EFCC until after they are defrauded,” he said. “No investment scam can succeed without the negligence of investors.”he said.
