A N7 billion fraud proceed has been traced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to a religious group.
The discovery was made in the course of investigating N30 billion looted from the treasury.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede broke this news yesterday in Abuja.
According to him, the religious group went to court and obtained an injunction preventing the anti-graft agency from proceeding with the fraud investigation.
The injunction further ordered that the EFCC should not invite, arrest or prosecute its leader, Olukoyede added.
He spoke at a public engagement on “Youth, religion and the fight against corruption” and the launch of the “Inter-faith manual and fraud risk assessment project for ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government” at the Yar’Adua Centre.
The EFCC chair, who said the agency had uncovered a religious sect laundering money for terrorists, warned traditional rulers, religious groups, institutions and sects against money laundering.
He noted that 60 per cent of the 747 convictions secured by the anti-graft body within three months of his assumption of duties bordered on cybercrime.
He said: “We will not give up on recovering the stolen funds. It is so sad that as I stand before the eminent audience today, that our experience in fighting corruption has to do with the religious leaders and even traditional rulers.
“As I stand before you, there is a matter we are handling of over N30 billion fleeced from Nigeria, and we were able to trace N7 billion to a particular religious body.
“As we wrote a letter to the leader, the next thing we saw was a restraining order stopping us from inviting them, stopping us from recovering the money.
“Of course, we have appealed. Sometimes ago, we investigated the issue of money laundering somewhere in this country.
“There is a particular religious sect that launders money for terrorists; these are the problems we are battling with.”
He added: “To our faith leaders, my appeal is that those who lead our society from churches and mosques should develop messages that glorify industry, hard work, probity and contentment over riches, irrespective of how it was made.
“We all must stand up and be counted in the efforts to reset the mentality of our youths that the fast lane to affluence is fraud.
“Aside from our commitment to using faith to tackle corruption in various levels of society, we have also developed a remarkable tool which we intend to deploy to prevent corruption in our Ministries, Department and Agencies.”
Explaining that Fraud Risk Assessment Project will help government agencies to address systemic vulnerabilities at the personal, institutional and environmental levels, Olukoyode said: “When fully deployed, it will save the nation billions of naira in stolen wealth, time and resources spent in investigating grand corruption cases.
“The project is intended to commence, in the first instance, with 20 extremely vulnerable agencies of government.
“We believe that with the support of the government and the cooperation of the leadership of the selected agencies, we will be able to drastically close the space for brazen graft in the public sector.”
Olukoyede said although much ground has been covered by the EFCC on convictions and recoveries, the unabating trend of corrupt practices called for serious concerns.
To address the situation, he said there should be emphasis on prevention of crimes through well-thought-out and coordinated efforts of the commission.
Olukoyede said although much ground has been covered by the EFCC on convictions and recoveries, the unabating trend of corrupt practices called for serious concerns.
To address the situation, he said there should be emphasis on prevention of crimes through well-thought-out and coordinated efforts of the commission.
He said: “Indeed, proactive implementation of effective and coordinated policies against corruption remains the best guarantee for public security, economic development, and the effective functioning of public and private institutions.
“The recalibration of the commission’s prevention strategy seeks to promote proactive deterrence and greater inclusivity in terms of participation of all stakeholders.
“Our motivation is to see how corruption, whether in ministries and agencies of government, in the ivory towers, or the private sector, could be prevented before it occurs.”
The EFCC boss said the commission was prioritising two areas of concern: the involvement of youth in cybercrimes and the susceptibility of ministries, departments and agencies to grand corruption.
He expressed concern about the disconcerting allure of computer-related fraud for youths in tertiary institutions.
He said: “The danger of having a tribe of future leaders whose outlook in life is that fraud and corruption are the stairways to fame and fortune, is however, too dire to treat with kid gloves.”
