The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC says it has uncovered how a religious sect in Nigeria is laundering money for terrorists.
The Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ola Olukoyede revealed this on Wednesday
According to him, another religious body was found to be protecting a money launderer after some money suspected to have been laundered was traced to the organisation’s bank account.
The EFCC boss made the revelation on Wednesday at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, during a one-day dialogue on “Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption.”
He noted that religious organisations, institutions, sects, and bodies, have been found culpable of money laundering.
The anti-graft agency said it traced the sum of N7bn, suspected to be proceeds of money laundering, to a religious organisation.
Though he did not reveal the identity of the religious organisation, a source in the anti-agency privy to the case told The PUNCH that it was a Nigerian church.
The EFCC chairman vowed that the anti-graft agency would recover the money through the court
Olukoyede said, “A religious sect in this country had been found to be laundering money for terrorists.”
Earlier, he noted, “We were able to trace some laundered money to a religious organisation, and when we apporached the religious organisation about it and we were carrying out our investigation, we got a restraining order stopping us from carrying out our investigation.”
Olukoyede, however, said the EFCC would not give up on the investigation as the restraining court order had been appealed.
In the same vein, the EFCC chairman also said the anti-graft agency uncovered another unnamed religious body laundering money for a terrorist organisation.
“No one will be spared, we’ll probe everyone who is suspected to be committing financial crimes, and these includes members of the executive, legislative, and judiciary arms of government,” Olukoyede added.
He said since his assumption of office as the EFCC chairman about three months ago, the anti-graft agency had secured 747 convictions, mostly cybercrime.
