Banks involved 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that banks in Nigeria are involved in about 70 per cent of financial crimes committed in the country.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukayode stated this at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks (ACAEBIN) in Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.

Olukayode said the banking sector was increasingly becoming a cesspool of fraudulent activities and this had been raising considerable challenges and concerns to the commission.

Represented by the agency’s Director of Internal Audit, Idowu  Apejoye, the EFCC chairman 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.

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

“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.”

He charged the association to monitor the financial activities of banks, comparing actual and budgeted revenue with expenses, carrying out periodical review, and checks, among others.