Posted by The EFCC will start to look into buying and owning property to see if any crimes have been committed.
The EFCC is looking for people who use real estate to do illegal things like hiding money they got illegally.
During a training session for journalists in Benin, Edo State, a lawyer from EFCC named Chris Mishela said that lots of big houses being built in places like Lagos and Abuja are probably from cheating and sneaking money around illegally.
He spoke.
In Abuja, many new neighborhoods are popping up and we think they are being paid for with illegal money. Money that comes from the government or from illegal activities is being hidden by investing it in real estate. This is against the law.
As a real estate person, we have to tell everything about the property we are selling. It is a rule we have to follow.
The EFCC is investigating a new way people may be doing crime, and a new law can help them look at real estate.
“We didn’t start an investigation. Instead, we found out that these are profits from illegal activities.”
He said they were training journalists about the new anti-money laundering law in 2022 and what they needed to do.
He said that we need to make sure everyone knows about the new law called the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022. It’s different from the old law called the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011, which isn’t used anymore. That’s why we’re having this workshop.
Mrs. Oluwakemi Olawoyin, who works for the EFCC in Benin, is in charge of the Cyber Crimes Unit. In a talk she gave about digital payment systems, she told people not to click on any links that they did not start when they are on the Internet.
She gave tips on how to make safe purchases online and warned to be careful with websites that are not secure.
Mr. Dele Oyewale, who is in charge of talking to the public for EFCC, asked reporters to give them information they find so they can investigate fraud.