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Nigeria loses $155bn to money laundering, fraud – Report

By BusinessNews Staff on April 1, 2014

The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ismail Bello, says a recent report indicated that Nigeria had lost $155bn to money laundering and other illegal outflows.

This, he said, represented 19 per cent of the total of $854bn outflow from Africa to the developed economies.

He spoke at a conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Lagos entitled, ‘Money laundering, terrorism financing and identity theft.’

Churning out the staggering statistics, he said money launderers had made the United States-based Global Financial Integrity to rank Nigeria 7th “out of the 20 largest exporters of illicit funds worldwide with a total figure of $129bn from 2001 to 2010.”

Bello, who delivered a keynote address on ‘Global perspective on terrorists financing, money laundering and identity theft, pointed out that the Western world was paying lip service to the fight against money laundering.

He said, “If they were really against theft by government officials in developing countries, they would not readily accept stolen money in their countries.”

“However, while they rail against corruption, they create framework which permit them to receive stolen money with banks. Some of these monies end up in real estates; others are hidden in fake offshore companies and investment institutes.”

Describing money laundering as a major problem to the economy, the LCCI president noted that looting had reached an ‘epidemic proportion.’

This, he according to him, portends a bleak economic future for the country if nothing tangible and effective is done to arrest the cankerworm working against the nation.

To combat the vices, Bello said Nigerians must imbibe the practice of demanding for accountability from public officials.

In addition, he said banks must employ the use of modern technologies to establish second and third level links which identify transactions as potentially suspicious.

The LCCI boss, who regretted it was not possible for the Federal Government to police itself, however, recommended that in addition to normal anti-money laundering controls, banks must focus on the terrorist funding angle, using knowledge derived from the data bank of case studies.

He added “The topic of this conference is so appropriate and timely in the face of security challenges we are facing as a nation and globally as human. The various insurgents around our country and the world at large with the kind of dimension and the consistency at which it is being pursued shows that it requires concerted effort both locally and internationally.”

The President/Chairman of Council, Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr. Segun Aina, said money laundering, terrorism financing and identity theft could slow down the rate of the nation’s economic advancement.

Aina also said the economic crimes could hamper expected growth in the financial system, if not nipped in the bud.

While noting that the economic vices could negatively affect capital inflow into the country, the CIBN President said the illegal financial practice could also erode public trust in the integrity of the financial system.

These, he said could result to capital flight, destabilisation of financial institution and ultimately economic collapse.

Aina, who was represented by the Deputy Registrar, CIBN, Mr. Tade Fadare, said successful war against the economic crimes could only be achieved if the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, the global body for anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism, was implemented.

The Chairman, CIBN, Lagos Branch, Mr. Bolade Agbola, noted that the economic crimes were usually perpetrated by outsiders in connivance with bank officials.

[Punch]

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