CBN and EFCC plan to introduce law laws barring anyone convicted of economic crimes of opening bank account

CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials have begun working together on a plan that would involve barring anyone convicted of corruption from opening a bank account.

 

Yesterday, officials of the two institutions met in Abuja to examine ways of intensifying the fight against corruption and economic crimes. Under guidelines they drew up, any individual or corporate body found to be involved in economic crimes might be barred from opening bank accounts anywhere in the country.

 

Isaac Okorafor, the CBN's director of corporate communications, said the two organisations adopted strategies aimed at curtailing the unwholesome activities of economic saboteurs. He added that this includes the smuggling of commodities like rice, textile materials, fertiliser, wheat and other items on the prohibition list for accessing foreign exchange through official windows, as well as tracking illicit financial flows.

 

Other areas which the two agencies were collaborating include anti-money laundering and the monitoring of politically-exposed persons in the country. The inter-agency meeting, chaired by Jeremiah Abue, the director of the CBN's Governors’ Department, also agreed to improve on the level of information-sharing and surveillance of the financial sector.

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