EFCC Boss Seeks Legislation Against Unexplained Wealth

The head of the EFCC wants laws against mysterious wealth

Legislation against mysterious wealth has been demanded by Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in an effort to curb the illicit activities of the nation's treasury looters.

He stated, “The problem of unexplained wealth is not a local issue,” while speaking at a recent event in Ogun State. To address it, jurisdictional laws exist all over the world.

Countries all over the world still deal with crimes resulting from money laundering schemes and illegal money. Due to these circumstances, Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) were enacted and went into effect in 2018.

Numerous nations have developed UWO, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius, and African nations like Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. Nigeria has not yet developed a national law pertaining to it.

Suspects of any financial or economic crimes are typically obliged to declare their assets during an investigation by an anti-graft agency. The foundation for this is to accurately ascertain their genuine asset base and any connections to corruption, if any.

The EFCC still uses Section 7 of its Establishment Act to address the issue of unexplained wealth because there is no legislation on the subject

Asset forfeiture based on non-conviction is becoming the norm in many countries. This is due to the fact that wealth that is mysterious can only serve the state's interests if it is forfeited.

The EFCC has prevented fraudsters from obtaining substantial assets since its founding. They include, among other things, landed properties, automobiles, jewelry, cash, and furniture.

Asset forfeiture procedures typically entail the prosecution of the suspected fraudster because, depending on the court's decision and the state of the law, assets may be forfeited permanently or only temporarily.

But regardless of whether assets are seized temporarily or permanently, it is crucial that all illicitly obtained money be retrieved and retained by the government.

In order for the commission to function more effectively, he asked the public to be forthcoming with information about suspicious assets in their local communities. This is because intelligence and information must be easily accessible.