EFCC Offers 5% Reward for Tips on Stolen Nigerian Assets Abroad — Olukoyede

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has announced a reward of between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent for whistleblowers whose information leads to the recovery of stolen Nigerian assets held abroad.

Olukoyede disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering a lecture at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom.

The EFCC chairman said whistleblowers should be encouraged and protected because credible information from citizens could significantly assist efforts to trace and recover proceeds of crime.

“The citizens must be encouraged with your whistleblower protection. If any of you is privy to where a Nigerian asset is stolen or taken to anywhere in the world, we have an incentive for you. Between 2.5 and 5 per cent is going to go back to you upon recovery,” Olukoyede said.

He identified asset tracing, judicial cooperation and access to credible intelligence as important factors contributing to the EFCC’s success in securing non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.

Olukoyede also said the commission had some of the best investigators in the world and had recorded significant achievements in asset recovery.

According to him, the EFCC has forfeited cash and assets worth more than $500 million to the Federal Government within the past three years.

“Within three years of my assumption of office, we’ve been able to forfeit both cash and assets worth over half a billion dollars to the government,” he said.

The EFCC boss cited several cases involving suspected proceeds of crime, including forfeiture proceedings involving a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and an immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation.

He explained that the commission is empowered to approach the High Court for forfeiture of suspected proceeds of crime based on probable suspicion.

Olukoyede said the procedure was similar to arrangements in countries such as Australia and Canada.

He also recalled a case involving an aircraft allegedly acquired in connection with a $30 million bribe. According to him, the aircraft was forfeited and subsequently added to the Presidential Air Fleet.

The EFCC chairman further disclosed that the commission had forfeited about 753 housing units linked to a former CBN governor, against whom criminal charges had been filed in three courts.

On the former Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami, Olukoyede said the EFCC opened an investigation following allegations of criminal abuse of office and traced about 57 properties allegedly linked to him.

He said the commission had so far forfeited about 48 of the properties.

Olukoyede also mentioned the forfeiture of a private university allegedly linked to a director in the Federal Ministry of Health, saying the official later voluntarily surrendered the property following the EFCC investigation.

The EFCC chairman said asset recovery remained an important part of the commission’s fight against economic and financial crimes.