The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered cash and assets valued at more than $500 million for the Federal Government within the past three years, the commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Wednesday while speaking at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom, where he highlighted Nigeria’s use of non-conviction-based asset forfeiture in tackling the proceeds of financial crimes.
According to him, the EFCC has been able to secure the forfeiture of both cash and properties worth over half a billion dollars since he assumed office.
“Within three years of my assumption of office, we’ve been able to forfeit both cash and assets worth over half a billion dollars to the government,” he said.
Olukoyede explained that Nigerian law allows the EFCC to approach the court for the forfeiture of assets suspected to be proceeds of crime without necessarily waiting for a criminal conviction.
He said the framework was comparable to provisions in countries including Australia and Canada.
The EFCC chairman explained that the process involves applying to the High Court for an order based on reasonable suspicion that an asset is connected to the proceeds of crime.
“You apply ex parte to the high court upon a probable suspicion of the proceeds of crime,” he said.
Giving examples of recent cases, Olukoyede disclosed that the commission secured the forfeiture of an aircraft allegedly linked to an individual who was involved in a monitoring committee for a power project and was accused of receiving a $30 million bribe.
He said the aircraft was forfeited about three months ago and had since been added to the Presidential Air Fleet.
According to him, the forfeiture order was obtained within two months of the commission approaching the court.
Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC had secured the forfeiture of a property comprising about 753 housing units from a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“That property contains about 753 housing units we forfeited from an erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We have criminal charges against him [in] about three courts,” he said.
The EFCC chairman further revealed that investigators had traced 57 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in connection with an investigation into suspected abuse of office.
He said the investigation was commenced last year following what he described as reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office.
“Sometimes last year, I opened investigations upon reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office by the immediate past attorney-general of Nigeria,” he said.
Olukoyede said investigations into the former AGF’s tenure led to the tracing of about 57 properties, with 48 of them subsequently forfeited, according to him.
He also cited the forfeiture of a private university allegedly linked to a director in the Federal Ministry of Health, saying the official voluntarily surrendered the property after an EFCC investigation.
According to the EFCC chairman, the commission’s ability to obtain non-conviction-based forfeiture orders is strengthened by effective asset tracing, judicial cooperation and access to reliable intelligence.
He said the EFCC had invested heavily in developing the capacity of its investigators, with many receiving training at institutions outside Nigeria.
“We also have some of the best investigators around the world,” Olukoyede said.
He stressed that an efficient and proactive judiciary remained crucial to the successful implementation of asset forfeiture laws, while credible intelligence was also necessary for investigators to identify and trace illicit assets.
Olukoyede also advocated stronger protection and incentives for whistleblowers who provide information capable of helping the government recover assets allegedly taken out of Nigeria.
He said individuals with credible information about stolen Nigerian assets located abroad could benefit from the EFCC’s whistleblower incentive arrangement.
“The citizens must be encouraged with your whistleblower protection,” he said.
“If any of you is privy to where Nigerian asset is stolen or taken to anywhere in the world, we have an incentive for you. Between 2.5 and 5 percent is going to go back to you upon recovery.”
He said the incentive was intended to encourage members of the public to provide useful information that could assist the EFCC in tracing and recovering assets linked to financial crimes.
