By Cross Udo
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it has so far recovered over N30bn from the corruption activities surrounding the suspended Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Idris Ahmed.
Chairman of the Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, stated this when he featured at the 62nd Ministerial Media Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Recall that the Commission is currently prosecuting the embattled AGF over alleged N109bn fraud.
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He also revealed that over 3,615 convictions were recorded within the period, affirming that the administration is serious about its anti-corruption programme.
He announced that the nationwide auction of forfeited automobiles will be followed by the disposal of over 150 houses to interested buyers.
Bawa assured that by the time the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCMUL) becomes fully operational, it will be difficult for money to be laundered in the country.
He said EFCC has remitted at least N136bn to the Federal Government account set up to collect and manage proceeds of crime since May 2022.
According to him, the breakdown of funds is as follows: N120bn, $29m, Euros 6.6m, and about £1.1m. The naira equivalent of the funds amounts to N136.65bn.
These recovered funds, he said, will be deployed into ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Abuja-Kano road, Second Niger Bridge, and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, amongst others.
Revealing the number of funds and value of properties recovered so far, Bawa said, “I want to state here that the POCA, which is the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2022, mandates that all relevant agencies must open what is called the Confiscated Assets and Properties Account in naira and foreign currencies and that all finally forfeited funds that belong to the federal government should now go into that account. And before, we had to pay the money into a designated account.
“But with POCA, this is where we now keep the different government assets recovered. And we have carried out an audit. From our EFCC recovery account, we paid N120bn and $29m, about Euros 6.6m, and about £1.1m into that.
“And the President has sanctioned that all those monies should be utilised to provide critical infrastructure in the country. So, the funds will be used for the completion of the Abuja-Kano expressway, the Second Niger Bridge, and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, among other funds that the federal government is getting.”
He revealed that, in November 2022, the anti-graft agency recovered another N201bn from oil firms defaulting on royalties to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the 3 per cent statutory payment to the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The breakdown includes $354m, N30bn, and $30m.
“Here are some of the things we have done in indirect recoveries in November 2022. We recovered $354m for the NUPRC in terms of royalties that one of the oil companies has not paid. Our investigations led to that recovery.
“For the recoveries that we’re making for NDDC, for instance, between now and probably next week, we’ll transfer to them about N30bn and about $30m.
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“These are recoveries we have made from oil companies that have refused to pay the 3 per cent statutory payment to NDDC,” Bawa explained.
Despite much questioning from journalists, the EFCC boss was reticent on the firm’s identity.
“It is only from one company that the $354m was recovered. I have forgotten the period, but it is an investigation done by our Lagos command, and we have evidence of payment that the said company made. Because of the sensitivity of some of these things, we will leave it at that.”
Responding to allegations that the EFCC could be a tool in the hands of some influential individuals, Bawa argued that the agency is independent enough to investigate the suspended Attorney-General, Ahmed Idris, over an N109bn money laundering case.
An investigation, he said, has led to the recovery of over N30bn.
“The EFCC is independent; nobody tells us what to do or investigate, how to investigate, or what to cover and what not to cover. No!
“One of the last major investigations we did was that we arrested the Accountant-General of the Federation. The Accountant-General of the Federation was arrested. Out of those fraudulent activities discovered, the EFCC has recovered over N30bn, and we’re already prosecuting them,” he revealed.
