National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency may have begun
investigating banks and other financial
institutions that facilitated the transfer of
monies allegedly laundered by the suspended
Plateau State Governor, Chief Joshua Dariye.
Our correspondent gathered that the
search would be extended to other banks involved
in laundering money for public officers in the
country.
NDLEA Act No. 148 of 1989 set
the tone adopted for combating money laundering
in Nigeria. Ever since, several laws have been
established to check it in all its
ramifications.
Our correspondent
gathered from reliable security source that the
agency had been asked to probe the banks said to
have facilitated the transfer of the �3.8
million recovered from Dariye in London two
weeks ago.
The Federal Government move,
the source said �Eis aimed at blocking the
loopholes through which public officers launder
money out of the country.�E
Our
correspondent gathered that President Olusegun
Obasanjo, who had repeatedly castigated the
banks for their alleged roles in stifling
economic growth in the country, was said to have
been worried by the �black roles played by some
banks in the country in facilitating the
transfer of huge sums of illegal monies by
public officers. He wants those banks
investigated and punished.�E
But the
spokesman of NDLEA, Mr. Jonah Achema, in a
telephone interview, on Monday said that the
agency would swing into action once the
necessary information on Dariye and other public
officers was received.
�When we get the
necessary information we will act and act
accordingly,�EAchema said.
The Central
Bank of Nigeria said it had no direct power to
probe or prosecute any bank involved in money
laundering but said it would continue to canvass
for sanctions against any bank that abused the
sale of foreign exchange to individuals or
groups.
The Deputy Director, Corporate
Affairs, Mr. Tony Ede, said �it is not for us to
probe the banks involved in money laundering,
that is for NDLEA and the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission. But we will continue to
penalise any financial institution that abuse
the sale of forex. We have warned them and we
will continue to warn them about the implication
of this act.�E
Ede noted that the people
involved in money laundering were doing a
disservice to Nigeria, pointing out that �moving
money from an area of need to an area of surplus
has a great economic implications.�E
A
banker in one of the commercial banks, who spoke
to our correspondent on condition of anonymity,
said despite the establishment of NDLEA and
other anti-money laundering in Nigeria, it might
be impossible to fight the problem.
�Things are uncoordinated in this country
and there is no way that such monies can be
monitored. The banks that are looking for money
may not be interested in the source of a
customer�s money. What they are interested in is
how much comes to them. So it will be difficult
to monitor the activities of money launderers in
the country,�Ehe said.
The Money
Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2003 makes it an
offence for failure to report eligible and
suspicious transactions as specified under the
different sections of the Act. It is also an
offence for anybody to acquire or possess assets
acquired through crime or to provide assistance
to any person to launder proceeds of crime.
The relevant legislation which, binds
all financial and other institutions operating
in Nigeria include: NDLEA Act 1989, CBN Act
1991, Banking And Other Financial Institutions
Act 1991 (As Amended), Failed Banks (Recovery Of
Debts) And Financial Malpractices In Bank Act
1994 (Amended 1999), Foreign Exchange Monitoring
& Miscellaneous Act 1995, Money Laundering
Act 1995 , Securities Exchange Commission Act
1997, The Corrupt Practices And Other Related
Offences Act 2000, Money Laundering Amendment
Act 2002, Economic And Financial Crimes
Commission 2002, Money Laundering (Prohibition)
Act 2003 , National Insurance Commission Act.
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