The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Thursday, said fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies.
Olukoyede stated this during the African Union Anti-corruption Day with the theme: “Understanding Virtual Assets and Investment Scam”, which was held at Iyaganku, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The EFCC Chairman was represented by the Acting Zonal Director, Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the agency, Hauwa Garba Ringim.
The EFCC boss said virtual assets fraud was on the rise, disclosing that findings showed that fraudulent politicians were already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies.
Olukoyede said: “It is important to clearly state that virtual assets are not fundamentally criminal. It is when they are wrongfully or fraudulently used that they become criminals. Technology is moving at a supersonic speed around the world. The advent of virtual assets is a response to one of the qualities of money as a store of value. However,as with every progressive innovation,fraudsters usually evolve ways of perverting their genuine purposes.
“Virtual assets fraud is on the rise. Our findings showed that fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies. Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused inwallets and payments for services are being done through this window. Investment schemes are also being facilitated through it. For us at the EFCC,virtual assets fraud and investment scam are not hard nuts to crack. Proactive and broad- based training and intelligence are bringing fraudulent schemes to the fore. We are ahead in every material sense and there is enormous proof of operational successes in this regard,especially the breakthrough in investigation and prosecution of the infamous CBEX scam.
“Investment fraud, like virtual assets fraud, is spreading like wildfire across Africa. Fraudsters are exploiting vulnerabilities of desperate investors to
defraud them through various dishonest schemes. Every exploitation of investors in any guise is considered a fraudulent act. Ponzi schemes rank
as one of the most pervasive of such acts.
“Understanding virtual assets and investment fraud will not be complete without drawing serious attention to the role of investing public in breaking
the opportunistic practices of fraudsters floating various schemes to defraud Nigerians. We are all aware of the hues and cries of many
investors in CBEX that lost their funds to the shenanigans of the operators. This unfortunate situation is preventable”.
Olukoyede also said judging from the experience of the CBEX, the investing public do inadvertently aid fraudulent practices through lack of due diligence on schemes advertised to them.
Olukoyede lamented that it was learnt in the CBEX saga that investors hardly sent suspicious transaction reports to the EFCC until they were defrauded. He pointed out that no investment scam could succeed without the negligence of the investors.
“The lessons derived from the CBEX situation are very clear: the investing public do inadvertently aid fraudulent practices through lack of due diligence on schemes advertised to them. Another lesson is that investors hardly send suspicious transaction reports to the EFCC until they are defrauded. We must understand that no investment scam can succeed without the negligence of investors. The EFCC is always at work to engage every stakeholder in its preventive and investigative activities. Virtual assets and investment fraud,like other fraudulent activities, are preventable. The escape route is adequate knowledge and understanding of issues involved”.
In his lecture with the same theme, Prof. Oludayo Tade of the University of Ibadan, said both the frauders and the defrauded were equally guilty. Tade pointed out that people become victims because they thought they should be the only ones to enjoy the benefits of the ponzi schemes. The Professor of Criminology said the media was an important stakeholder in the ecosystem, urging media personalities not to use their reputation to promote ponzi schemes.
There were goodwill messages from security chiefs, senior government functionaries and others, including the police, Oyo State Anti-corruption Agency, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, National Orientation Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Road Safety Corps and others.
