The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has proposed a worldwide collective and collaborative approach by authorities, in order to tackle the challenges of financial crimes which had turned into the global scourge.
Bawa made the proposal in a keynote address presented by him on Monday at the 38th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, with the theme: “Economic Crime – Who pays and who should pay?”, put together by the Center for International Documentation on Organized and Economic Crime (CIDOEC), Jesus College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
According to a statement by the EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, Bawa stated that economic crimes are largely known as illegal acts committed for private gain, “affect the vital structures of global economies, causing significant damage to the global financial system and depriving developing nations of the needed resources for sustainable development.”
He pointed out that developed countries were not immune from the scourge, which he said had increased with the proliferation of cybercrimes which had become a threat to the stability of global financial institutions.
The EFCC chairman stated further that “new typologies of economic crimes, such as the growth of cryptocurrencies, portray a far greater danger to the world economy, as criminals now elect to transact or receive illegal monies (such as ransom money) for cyberattacks in cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin and ethereum as the most commonly used medium of these exchanges.”
He commended the choice of the theme, which he said offered a platform to interrogate the challenges of economic crimes.
“As the victims of crime continue to suffer globally from the effects of financial crimes, either directly or indirectly as part of a social system, the determination of who pays or who should pay becomes a critical measure of the criminal justice system in place,” Bawa further remarked.
He marked out the imperatives of an impartial judiciary in ensuring that “the perpetrators of acts and not the victims pay for their crimes.”
In a highlight of some of the transparency and accountability achievements of the Nigerian government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, including enactment and amendment of relevant laws to enhance public accountability and reforms such as Treasury Single Account and the Whistle Blower Policy among others, Bawa pointed out that the EFCC, as the rallying point in the fight against economic crimes in Nigeria, had recorded important milestones in investigations, prosecutions and assets recovery.
He added: “Since its establishment in 2003, the Commission has recorded no less than 3,500 convictions and recovered assets of significant value, including properties in Nigeria, the UK, the USA, and the UAE. All these have measurably contributed to the national efforts against economic crimes in Nigeria.”
The EFCC boss concluded by challenging participants to come up with practical solutions to curb the international threat of economic crimes.
In his remarks, the chairman of the symposium, Mr Saul Froomkin, appreciated Bawa for his insightful presentation and the support received from Nigeria in organizing the event.
Participants at the symposium were drawn from law enforcement and security agencies, accountability institutions and select stakeholders across the world.
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