On Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission filed an indictment against banks, alleging their involvement in nearly 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria.
Speaking at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria in Abuja, Ola Olukayode, the Chairman of the EFCC, revealed this.
He made the observation that the banking industry was turning into a hotbed of fraud, which had been posing serious problems and worries for the commission.
Olukayode, who was accompanied by Idowu Apejoye, Director of Internal Audit at the EFCC, stated that in order to stop and address fraudulent practices in the industry, key authorities and professionals—especially audit executives—need to work together.
He said, “Broadly speaking, banking fraud in Nigeria is both inside and outside related. The inside related fraud comprises outright selling of customers’ deposits, authorising loan facilities, forgery and several other kinds of unhealthy and criminal practices.
“The outsider related ones include hacking, ATM fraud, conspiracy, among others. And then the absurd one is when both collaborate, that is collaboration among the bankers and the outsider.
“That one is the one that is really absurd because when you do that, that means you are selling out the system. It is estimated that about 70 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are traceable to the banking sector, this scenario is disturbing and unacceptable.”
Olukayode said that ACAEBIN should make sure that accounts are properly reconciled each month in compliance with accounting regulations in order to stop the inconsistencies.
He gave the group the task of keeping an eye on the financial operations of banks, which included, among other things, conducting quarterly reviews, checking, and comparing actual and planned revenue with expenses.
Prince Akamadu, the chairman of ACAEBIN, stated that the organization would strive to implement a few of the suggestions made by the head of the EFCC.
He added that one of the goals of the retreat was to address the association's complete commitment to resolving Nigeria's foreign currency problems.
“That is part of the reason why we are having this retreat, to ask ourselves, to do an introspection and ask ourselves, given our position in the banking industry, or the executives of banks in Nigeria, are we doing enough?
“Have we done enough? What more can we do to help in sanitising the system? Are there things the banks could do to help in sanitising the FX in this country?”
“By the end of this retreat, we are expected to come up with a communique and we hope to address some of the issues, one way or the other, that will address the role of banks in FX challenges in this industry,”
Akamadu further explained that banks were not resting on their oars to curb fraudulent activities, as they were putting efforts in the Know Your Customer mechanism.
“I will tell you something, I’m not aware of any institution, any sector that has done more in the area of KYC than the banking industry. But it truly goes beyond the banks.
“And I can tell you truly again that even at the bankers committee level, and even at the typical details of banks in Nigeria, these are areas we are actually looking at to see where there are leakages and to begin to block them,” he stated.
He stated that the association was working tirelessly to address these concerns and assured the EFCC boss that there would be more positive results going forward.
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