BEVERLY HILLS, November 08, (THEWILL) – The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has revealed that the anti-grart agency has recovered over N738.9 ($2.9b) in two years.
Magu made this known at the ongoing 7th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption holding in Vienna, Austria, in a 10-page paper titled ‘International Cooperation in Relation to Tecnical Assistance: The Nigerian Experience’.
He said the cash included $43 million recovered from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke as he gave a detailed account of efforts by the Commission at tracing and recovering all stolen treasures from the country’s coffers.
Magu who was a panelist at the Implementation Review Group attended by over 100 delegates, detailed the Nigerian efforts in asset recovery, including the progress made in the specific cases related to Abacha loot, Malabu Oil, Diezani & Associates and the arms procurement scandal.
These efforts, he said cut across Switzerland, USA, UK, UAE, Jersey Island and Panama.
“The EFCC monetary recovery from May 2015 to October 20, 2017 was in excess of N738.9 billion, which is equivalent to over $2.9 billion. This does not include recovery in other currencies like Durham, CRA and British Pound.
“The EFCC has also made a lot of recovery locally. Within this year alone, the Commission recovered stolen assets running into several millions of US dollars and billions in naira.
“This includes the $43 million recovered from Deziani Allison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources and the N2 billion spread in seven accounts within three Nigerian banks laundered from the Federal Capital Territory Police Command Salary Accounts,” Magu stated.
He said the recovery was possible because the EFCC employed “the mechanism of the non-conviction based forfeiture provided under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.”
He sought for improved coordination and cooperation among State parties through the consideration and adoption of measures that will remove traditional barriers, such as bank secrecy consistent with Article 46(8) and dual criminality Article 46(9) as well as simplified legal technicalities in the recovery and repatriation of stolen funds.
The EFCC boss in his paper also asked for measures to reduce cost of recovery of assets for developing countries and ensure speedy return of all stolen assets to victim states in line with the current resolution sponsored by Nigeria.
He also called for sanctions and prosecution of any financial institution that violates AML/CFT measures and the maintenance of a public register on beneficial ownership.
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