Comply with money laundering, terrorist financing Act, Magu charges bankers

Motolani Oseni

The Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has called on bankers in Maiduguri, Borno State to ensure that they comply with the Money Laundering Act, and report to the anti-graft agency, any person(s) moving cash above the allowed threshold.

Magu made the call during an interactive session with the Chief Compliance Officers of banks.

In a statement signed by the Ag Head, Media & Publicity, Tony Orilade, Magu stated, “Nobody should carry cash above the threshold of above N10 million for corporate organizations and N5 million for individuals; anything above the threshold must be routed through financial institutions.”

He emphasized the role of Non-Governmental Organizations, NGOs in the North-East stressing that the EFCC will in the near future, begin the profiling of such organizations with a view of monitoring their financial activities.

He said: “We must profile all the NGOs in the North-East. I don’t know why an NGO will open more than 40 bank accounts.

“We are going to ask your various banks to give us statements of accounts for each and every NGO.

“The issue of money laundering, terrorist financing and leakage of information will be eliminated by the Commission with the help of bankers across the country.”

While answering a question from a bank official, Magu said, “Aside from terrorist financing, the Commission is trailing the activities of ‘yahoo -yahoo boys’ on how victims were defrauded in the hands of those fraudsters by using the latest technology.

The Commission through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is working assiduously to stop the menace.”