The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has announced a reward of between 2.5 per cent and five per cent for whistleblowers who provide credible information that leads to the recovery of Nigerian assets allegedly taken abroad through corrupt activities.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, made the disclosure while speaking at the 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
According to the commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, Olukoyede urged anyone with reliable information about the location of Nigerian assets suspected to be proceeds of corruption anywhere in the world to come forward.
He said successful whistleblowers would receive the financial reward after the assets had been recovered.
Olukoyede explained that the incentive was introduced to encourage people with useful intelligence to assist the EFCC in tracing funds and properties moved outside Nigeria through illicit means.
He noted that depending on the value of the assets recovered, the reward could make some whistleblowers multi-millionaires.
The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission had secured the forfeiture of cash and assets worth more than $500 million to the Federal Government within the first three years of his tenure.
He attributed the recoveries to the professionalism of EFCC investigators, the support of the judiciary and access to credible intelligence.
Olukoyede also highlighted Nigeria’s non-conviction-based asset forfeiture system, which allows authorities to pursue suspected proceeds of crime without necessarily waiting for a criminal conviction.
He said the approach is similar to systems operating in countries such as Australia and Canada.
According to him, the mechanism has enabled the government to secure the forfeiture of several assets allegedly acquired with proceeds of crime, including an aircraft, a university, estates and houses.
Olukoyede cited the recovery of 752 housing units linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
He also disclosed that an investigation involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, resulted in the forfeiture of 48 out of 57 properties allegedly traced to him.
The EFCC chairman said the investigation followed reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office during Malami’s eight-year tenure.
The 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime is being held in Cambridge and brings together anti-corruption experts and practitioners from around the world.
Olukoyede delivered his presentation on the third day of the week-long event.
