The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested hundreds of suspected fraudsters and recovered various sums in different currencies in the last six months.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, explained that the commission has been upfront as the central agency coordinating the fight against economic crime in Nigeria, saying several successes have been recorded since he took over the leadership of the anti-graft agency.
“From the time I took over as the Executive Chairman, on the 5th of March 2021, we have recovered over N6 billion, over $161 million, over £13,000, €1,730, 200 Canadian dollars, CFA 373,000, ¥8,430 and 30 real estates.
“We have arrested over 1500 internet fraudsters, many of whom are being prosecuted,” he was quoted as saying in a post shared on the EFCC’s Facebook page on Friday.
Bawa – attributing to available records – revealed that the EFCC has well over 3,408 convictions as of August 2021, while over N6 trillion has been expended so far on the war against terrorism since 2008.
He added that about N5.4 trillion was lost to tax evasion by multinational corporations operating in the country from 2011 to 2021, stressing that this was aside from the theft of resources in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The EFCC chief believes all hope is not lost as Nigeria, under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, has demonstrated commitment and political will in dealing with the issue of economic crimes through a number of legislative and institutional reforms.
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