Too Much Money-EFCC recovers N1.7tr in eight years, says Waziri

THE Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has recovered a total of N1.7 trillion ($11 billion) since its inceptions in 2003, the agency's boss, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said in Lagos, yesterday.
According to her, N975 billion ($6.5 billion) was recovered in the last two years alone. These recoveries included some part of the Late General Sani Abacha's loot, as well as some arising from the bank sanitisation exercise, which the commission embarked on with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
"Expectedly, a substantial portion of these recoveries are government funds that have been siphoned and criminal proceeds from bank frauds. It will do us well to explain the avenues of the recovery and the use, of which this recovered funds are channeled. Restitution may not be the primary motive of the work of the commission, but it is  important to investigate and prosecute criminals", she said.
Also, she said that in cases of official corruption and theft of government funds, the proceeds of crime are remitted to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation of Nigeria or that of the applicable state government, as required by the public service rules. Where the victim is private entity, the proceeds of the crime are given to such private entity.
A review of the recoveries made by the commission between June 2008 and March 2011, revealed that N975 billion ($6,500,000,000) was recovered.
A sector by sector break-down of these recoveries, showed that N650 billion ($4.3 billion) was recovered from the banking sector, N3.5 billion ($23.3 million) from taxation, N150 billion ($ 10 million) from local business/firm, N36 billion ($ 240 million) from multi-national penalties and N135.5 billion ($903 .3 million) from others Forfeitures, AFF, among others.
She said recoveries and convictions in the last two and half years under her watch, constitute about 60 percent of the total success story of the commission. She said the success was not accidental but a function of a change in the right direction.
"Our experience has been that working within the limits of the law has challenged our capacity and let to more in-depth analysis and investigation", she added.
This has there fore meant that cases are more vigorously investigated, leaving no loophole for defense attorneys to take advantage of, she explained. According to her, 105 cases involving Politically Exposed Persons (PSP) were handled within the period, from which 36 convictions were recorded, while 75 cases are still under trial.
The commission said it was investigating 448 cases of advanced fee fraud, after convicting 428, just as another 789 suspects are still undergoing trial.
On money laundering, it said 26 cases were under investigation, 163 cases under trial, while 15 are already convicted. As regards cyber crime/Internet fraud, 186 cases are currently under investigation, 476 under trial with 137 number of convictions.
However, Waziri lamented that the commission has continuously found itself "in the eye of the storm", as a result of executing its mandate of providing financial security for the Nigerian economy.

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Posted: at 7-05-2011 10:04 AM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

daz gud of u

Posted: at 7-05-2011 03:01 PM (12 years ago) | Hero

No be to just recover money, where are the recovered money?.......to what use have they been put?........if we have recovered  this large sum of money, why are we still borrowing?....or did the money develop legs?

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Posted: at 7-05-2011 03:47 PM (12 years ago) | Hero

yes u made a good pion there the soo call money the recover from Abacha is all here
for me i believe there is no true here or better still these once the agree . what did the use it for can the tell us ?

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Posted: at 7-05-2011 05:26 PM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

they are not doing anything.if they recover money what are they using it for?

Posted: at 7-05-2011 07:32 PM (12 years ago) | Upcoming

Good job, but where's the money?

Posted: at 7-05-2011 10:11 PM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

What has the government done with the money recovered?

I'm sure they (government) re-looted soon after it was recovered.

No electricity, bad roads, inflation, depleting foreign reserve, e.t.c

I hv come to believe that every aspiring Nigerian politician is a potential looter.

Not to talk of the politicians themselves,
they can at best be described as Unpatriotic.

Posted: at 8-05-2011 09:27 AM (12 years ago) | Upcoming

 

Posted: at 10-05-2011 03:00 PM (12 years ago) | Hero