The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has called on audit executives in banks across the country to be more vigilant and assertive in tackling financial crimes in the banking sector.
Mr Olukoyede gave this charge in Abuja on Monday, at the 2024 annual retreat of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBI), while frowning at the raft of fraudulent activities associated with the local banking industry. He then charged bank auditors to do more in sanitizing and strengthening the financial sector and growing the economy.
The EFCC boss, who spoke through the Director, Internal Audit of the Commission, Idowu Oluwole-Apejoye, further noted that banking fraud across the country often has either insider or outsider enablers.
“Broadly speaking, banking fraud in Nigeria is both insider and outsider-related. The insider-related fraud comprises outright stealing of customers deposits’ authorized loan facilities, forgery, and several other kinds of unhealthy and criminal practices.
The outsider-related ones include hacking, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) fraud, conspiracy among others. And the absurd one is when there is collaboration between the both of them,” he said.
Olukoyede also pointed out that an estimated 70 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria is traceable to the banking sector. He thus called for cooperative efforts by relevant authorities and professionals, especially bank auditors to prevent and detect fraudulent practices in the industry.
As such, he called for collaboration between bank auditors with the EFCC as it will boost the efforts in breaking the web of such activities.
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Mr olukoyede also urged bank auditors, stating, “As you retreat, use this opportunity to review developments in the financial sector of our nation and offer sound recommendations to the EFCC on how the rising cases of financial crimes can be curbed in our banks.
“I also call on you to always approach the Commission on any issue that you consider paramount in addressing corruption not only in the financial sector but in all other areas of life in our dear country.“
