CISLAC Says Nigeria Loses $18Bn Yearly to Illicit Financial Flows

Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), on Monday, expressed grave displeasure over the endemic corruption ravaging Nigeria which has led to loss of $18 billion yearly to illicit financial flows (IFFs).

Mr. Rafsanjani who doubles as Head of Transparency International (TI) Nigeria in a statement titled: ‘Repositioning the EFCC for effective and transparency in anti-corruption war in Nigeria’, however, observed that Nigeria was been ranked as one of the 23 countries that were ranked by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as non-cooperative in the combined efforts to fight money laundering globally, since its establishment in 2003.

Mr. Rafsanjani who expressed concern over the alleged corruption being perpetuated within the banking sector, argued that: “Despite the powers of and the checks that have been put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN and other relevant institutions regulating the sector, it appears that the system is being manipulated as Nigeria loses between $15 – 18 billion annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs).

“The banking sector has been largely implicated in money laundering where they have been instrumental in the initial entry or placement phase that involves the initial movement of an amount of money earned from criminal activity into some legitimate financial network or institution.

“This illicit act embedded into a legal trade has pervaded both the national and international business and banking industry with unabated vigor. In 2021, a directive was issued by the then chairman of the Commission, for operators in the Nigerian financial system, particularly bankers to declare their assets as from June 1, 2021.

“That directive was rightly in line with Sections 1 and 7 of the Bank Employees, etc. (Declaration of Assets) Act 1986, which compelled Bank Employees to make full disclosure of assets within fourteen days and provides a 10-year imprisonment sentence on conviction for offenses of unjust enrichment, respectively.

“Sustaining this initiative will ensure adequate measures in sanitizing the nation’s financial system by helping to prevent money laundering and illicit financial flows (IFFs) through which terrorism is largely funded, to effectively tax bank executives, and to expose illegal financial transactions.”

While noting that these inadequacies persist, he underscored the need to ensure that the provisions of the EFCC (Establishment) Act satisfy public and standard expectations for eligibility of a nominated Chairman and meet the purpose for which a financial crimes institution should be set up.

The CISLAC helmsman also urged the Commission to ensure that it “conducts thorough investigations of all public officers and politically exposed persons (PEP) named in the Pandora papers, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Genko scandal and FinCEN Files while those found guilty be made to face the full wrath of the law as a deterrent to others.