THE latest in the spate of recovery of huge sums of money by the country’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was made possible by an alleged tip-off by a Bureau-de-Change operator, acting as a whistle blower, Sunday Tribune has learnt.
EFCC operatives at the Lagos zonal office, on Friday evening, uncovered a large sum of money totalling N448,850,000, when they swooped on Shop LS 64 at LEGICO Shopping Plaza on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, based on information received from a concerned whistle blower.
The money, stashed in ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags in N500 and N1,000 denominations, was said to have been hidden in the shop it was found and was meant to be converted to foreign currency.
A source in the anti-corruption agency informed Sunday Tribune, on Saturday, that the whistle blower, who reported to the commission felt aggrieved over a ‘failed’ deal involving the conversion of the money to foreign currency between him and the owner, who was alleged to be a politician.
According to the source, the informant was himself a Bureau-de-Change (BDC) operator and was said to be a regular customer of the alleged politician but felt aggrieved when negotiation on the exchange rate fell through between them and the owner of the uncovered money negotiated with another BDC operator, who was said to have agreed to the terms of negotiation
It was gathered that though the shop in which the money was discovered, which was said to have belonged to a BDC operator, has not opened for business for some time prior to Friday’s discovery of the huge money, the money was kept in it ahead of the conversion, which purpose the source said he was not in the know.
Apparently not pleased with the fact that he was going to lose the business deal, the source informed that the first BDC operator was said to have contacted EFCC and opened the lid on the money by revealing where it was kept.
“The discovery made yesterday (Friday) was another plus for us,” the source stated, adding that, “it was really made possible by a whistle blower, who is one of the Northerners working as Bureau-de-Change operators in Lagos.
“What really happened was that the BDC operator felt aggrieved over a business deal between him and a politician, who wanted to convert the money to dollars but they could not agree on the rate. This prompted the owner of the money to contact another operator, who agreed to their negotiated price.
“Sensing that he was going to lose out, the first BDC operator, who we learnt is a regular customer to the said politician, blew the whistle on the deal and the location the huge amount of money was kept. This explains why our operatives were specific on the shops they wanted to search when they reached the plaza,” the source who did not want to be named told Sunday Tribune.
Though the commission did not say whether any arrest was made or not, another source informed that some persons were arrested in connection with the money on Friday, while some BDC operators were invited for questioning.
Efforts to get official comments on the issue from the commission’s Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive as his telephone lines were not available, while a text message sent to him was not replied as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the EFCC was said to have begun trailing the owner of N448.85 million.
The spokesman of the commission in Lagos, Mr. Sam Amadin, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, saying the agency was making efforts to reach the owner of the complex, with a view to knowing who rented the said shop 64.
“The shopping plaza, from preliminary investigation, was built by estate developers. From the developers, we will get the owner of the money.
“The people around the complex know the owner of the money. The place has not been in use for a long time; the owner only sneaks into the place and keeps the money. We will find the owner very soon,” Amadin assured.
“The shops had the signage of a Bureau-de-Change. Inquiries about the owner of shop 64 indicated that he had not been seen for a long time, as neighbours claimed the shop had not been opened for business for close to two years.
“The attention of the plaza’s chairman and some traders were drawn in order to force the shops open.
“There was no money found in shop 67, but in shop 64, heaps of Ghana-Must-Go bags were found on the floor of the shop. When the bags were unzipped, they were found to contain bundles of Naira notes totalling N448. 85million.”
The uncovering of the huge sum of money in Lagos came barely a month after N49 million was intercepted by the commission’s operatives at the Kaduna Airport. The money was loaded in five 150kg black jute bags, which were unaccompanied at the airport.
A Federal High Court, sitting in Kaduna, had on March 16 granted a temporary forfeiture order to EFCC following an ex parte motion the commission filed before the court, which further directed the anti-graft agency to publicised the case in national dailies.
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