EFCC Boss: Tracing Looted Funds Abroad Is A Very Long Process

Tracing looted funds from Nigeria to foreign nations is a very long and tiring process, Ibrahim Lamorde, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says.  To make the process easier, the EFCC boss has recommended the establishment of special courts to hasten the prosecution of suspected treasury looters. According to The Nation, Lamorde also disclosed that the EFCC […]

The post EFCC Boss: Tracing Looted Funds Abroad Is A Very Long Process appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.

Tracing looted funds from Nigeria to foreign nations is a very long and tiring process, Ibrahim Lamorde, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says. 

To make the process easier, the EFCC boss has recommended the establishment of special courts to hasten the prosecution of suspected treasury looters.

According to The Nation, Lamorde also disclosed that the EFCC has written the senate on the alleged diversion of N1.3trillion seized from convicts.

He made the disclosure while granting an interview with the BBC which was also published by the EFCC official magazine, Alert.

READ ALSO: How EFCC Saved American From Losing $130 Million

Lamorde said: “You see, whatever you do, one must be conscious that it is within the ambit of the law, so there are no shortcuts to investigating and prosecuting corruption cases. Everything must be done according to what the law provides.

“People expect magic and it doesn’t work that way. In developed countries of the world, if we look at all corruption cases, none of their investigations and prosecutions has lasted less than five years.

“I give you the example of James Ibori (a former governor of Delta State), that is serving jail term in United Kingdom. We started working with the Metropolitan Police on this case around 2005, they didn’t go to court until 2009 or 2010 and some of the processes are still in court like the confiscation process.

“Nobody keeps resources, funds or assets in their names within the jurisdiction where they commit such offences. Most times, they move out of their immediate jurisdiction. So, the processes of tracking these assets and funds that are stolen are cumbersome.

“Once it is not done within your jurisdiction, it becomes issues of cooperation with other law enforcement agencies in other countries and that takes time.

“Not only that, trying to identify these assets also takes a lot of resources and time.”

Speaking on the alleged diversion of funds, he said: “It’s true that such allegation has been made but we have written to the Senate. We have respectfully responded to the letter of invitation sent to us, explaining why we were not able to go by the date given. We think that based on what we have written to them, a new date should be given to us for us to engage them to discuss the issue concerned.

“We have engaged the services of a reputable audit firm since last year to work on all assets that have been seized and recovered by the EFCC.

“We want to have a comprehensive report that will stand the test of time. I’m not only talking about 2012 to 2015 that I am in charge of affairs, I asked them to look from the day the commission was created, that is April 2003 to date, so that we have a comprehensive report we can put in public space. Any person who has issues with that can challenge it and we will look at it.

“You see, people judge others by their standards. If they are entrusted with public funds, they will misuse it. So they just assume every other person can do the same. So, they look at you from their own perspective of what they may do or what they are doing. I think that is what is happening.

READ ALSO: Anti-Corruption War: Tinubu, Fashola Are Next – Activist

Meanwhile, anti-graft group, Anti-Corruption Coalition, has called for the resignation of  Lamorde, following his failure to appear before the senate to clear himself off the allegations of corruption.

In a related development, another anti-corruption group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CAOL) has asked Senate President Bukola Saraki to publicly declare his assets just as President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo did.

The post EFCC Boss: Tracing Looted Funds Abroad Is A Very Long Process appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.