Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has stated that the real estate industry in Nigeria is the second most vulnerable to money laundering methods.
Bawa, on the other hand, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to tackling money laundering and terrorism funding in the real estate sector of the economy.
He made the remarks in Abuja on Monday, April 25, 2022, during a workshop hosted by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA.
According to him, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Lagos are some of the major locations where properties are frequently acquired, primarily in cash and often in foreign currencies, with no one questioning the legality of such transactions.
Bawa, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Hadiza Gamawa Zubairu, stressed that, based on the existing realities of the real sector, the EFCC will leave no stone unturned in combating money laundering practices in the sector.
“Just last year in July, the EFCC launched an App called “The Eagle Eye” which has eased the processes of reporting economic and financial crimes and also exposed the flow of illicit funds in the real estate sector. This indeed has provided useful intelligence and goes to show the level of commitment that EFCC has in the real estate sector”, she said.
She restated the readiness of the EFCC to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in its efforts toward combating the menace, while also strengthening the capacity of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML to effectively discharge its responsibilities in enforcing compliance in the real estate sector.
The EFCC boss added that loopholes being exploited to launder funds in the real sector are weak regulations, lack of strict parameters for business practices by the regulatory bodies, and poor compliance with laws, among others.
Also, the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU Modibbo Hamman Tukur called for collaboration and coordination among agencies, locally and regionally, in combating money laundering and illicit financial flows. He proposed stronger legislative regulations, including the need for every citizen in GIABA member states to be linked to a unified identification number, in order to make it easier to track culprits.
In his own submissions, Secretary, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN, Yunusa Shuaibu, called for stricter regulation and coordination in the real sector.
He stressed that “the sector is currently free for all”.
“We are ready to cooperate at all times to achieve this feat and this is why we decided to sponsor a bill at the National Assembly”, he said.
Director of Evaluation and Compliance, GIABA, Dr. Bruno Nduka, particularly thanked Bawa for taking a keen interest in the activities of GIABA and providing tremendous support to the association.
He said the real estate sector is one of the main drivers of economic growth and the engine of social development across GIABA- member states.