BY ANDREW OROLUA
About 70 per cent of financial crimes in the country are being committed by Nigeria banks, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has said.
The chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukayode made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja.
Olukoyede spoke at the 2023 annual retreat and general meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria.
According to him, the banking sector has become a cesspool of fraudulent activities, a development which he said, poses challenges to the agency.
The EFCC chair, who was represented at the event by the Director, Internal Audit of the EFCC, Idowu Apejoye said the situation has been of considerable concern to the agency.
The anti graft agency said there was a need for concerted effort by relevant authorities and professionals, especially audit executives to arrest the festering rot in the banking 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.
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“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 boss said.
Olukayode charged audit professionals to ensure proper reconciliation of accounts every month to enable them stem the ugly tide.
He called for a proper monitoring of financial dealings of Nigerian banks, charging them to scrutinise actual budgeted revenues and expenses, while carrying out periodic reviews and checks.
Chairman of the audit association, Prince Akamadu, said the association would work towards addressing some of the issues raised by the EFCC chair.
He stated a commitment towards addressing the current foreign exchange crisis in the country, with a view to strengthening the value of the Naira.
Akamadu said, “That is part of the reason why we are having this retreat. 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 the other, that will address the role of banks in FX challenges in this industry,”
Akamadu however, said the banks were not relenting in their efforts to curb fraudulent activities within the system, through as the Know Your Customer (KYC) platform.
“I will tell you something, I am not aware of any institution, any sector that has done more in the area of KYC than the banking industry. But it truly goes beyond the banks.
“And I can tell you truly again that even at the bankers committee level, and even at the typical details of banks in Nigeria, these are areas we are actually looking at to see where there are leakages and to begin to block them,” he stated.
Akamadu assured the anti graft agency of his association’s resolve to ensure that banks play by the rules.
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