Banking Is Involved In 70% of Financial Crimes In Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has revealed that approximately 70 percent of financial crimes in Nigeria are connected to banks.

Chairman of the leading anti-graft agency, Ola Olukoyede, shared this information during his address in Abuja at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria.

The EFCC boss pointed out that the banking industry was becoming more characterized by fraudulent activities, posing significant challenges and concerns for the commission.

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Olukoyede underlined the significance of cooperative actions from pertinent authorities and industry professionals, particularly audit executives, to proactively address and combat fraudulent activities within the sector.

Olukoyede was represented by Idowu Apejoye, the Director of Internal Audit for the EFCC. In general, there are both internal and external components to banking fraud in Nigeria.

The outright selling of customer deposits, authorizing loan facilities, forgeries, and a number of other harmful and illegal activities are all included in the insider fraud, he stated. “Among the outsider-related ones are conspiracy, ATM fraud, and hacking. The most ridiculous scenario is when they both work together, that is, when the outsider and the bankers work together.

“That is the most ridiculous one since it implies selling out the system when you do that. According to estimates, the banking industry is responsible for roughly 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria. This is an unsettling and unacceptable situation, he continued.