The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed details of a scheme in which public funds were transferred from a local government account to a private company and subsequently moved into cryptocurrency wallets.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made this disclosure on Monday during a meeting with media executives and journalists in Abuja, emphasizing that the commission could not ignore the suspicious movement of public funds.
Olukoyede did not identify the specific local government, company, or state involved in the transaction. He explained that the EFCC’s Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department had detected the suspicious transfers and acted quickly by freezing the funds for 72 hours to determine their destination and purpose.
Addressing criticism over the commission’s actions, Olukoyede expressed frustration with those who opposed the freeze. “When we see money moving suspiciously, we step in and temporarily freeze it.
I know some of you are calling for my head. The account was frozen for 72 hours. Come and show where this money is going.
Why are you moving these funds? We noticed money moving from a local government account to a company, and then into cryptocurrency wallets. Is that how you build roads or generate power for your people? Should I ignore such transactions? If so, you don’t need me in this office,” he said.
Olukoyede stressed the need for law enforcement to focus on preventing the theft of public funds, not just reacting after the fact.
Why must we wait until money is stolen? Why can’t we change the narrative? That’s the approach we need to bring to the office,” he stated.
His comments come in the wake of public outcry earlier in the month after the EFCC froze an account belonging to the Osun State Government shortly before the August 15 governorship election. However, Olukoyede did not link the specific transaction under discussion to Osun State or any other state.
The EFCC Chairman also highlighted the changing face of cybercrime in Nigeria, noting that it now involves public officials using young people as fronts to launder stolen funds through cryptocurrency wallets. “We have reached a point in Nigeria where public officials steal money and hide it in cryptocurrency wallets.
Most of the directors we are investigating now don’t have tangible assets in their names. They give stolen money to students or young people who open crypto wallets worldwide, and the money is moved abroad within 24 hours to buy luxury items or property,” he explained.
Olukoyede revealed that the EFCC has developed the capacity to trace cryptocurrency wallets, especially those linked to virtual asset platforms registered in Nigeria. He said that around 40 such platforms have been licensed following new regulations aimed at tightening oversight of the sector. “Now we have the capacity to trace cryptocurrency wallets registered in Nigeria, and we are doing that,” he added.
The EFCC has also recovered virtual assets in connection with cases such as the CBEX fraud, although Olukoyede noted that managing confiscated cryptocurrency posed accountability challenges.
When you recover virtual assets, where do you put them? There was no accountability. That’s why we can’t continue like that,” he said. In response, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of a national confiscation wallet for virtual assets recovered by law enforcement agencies.
Olukoyede warned that the growing use of cryptocurrency to facilitate illicit fund transfers demands greater technological capacity among financial institutions and law enforcement.
He urged the public and stakeholders to support the commission’s efforts, noting that cybercrime now extends beyond “Yahoo Yahoo” to include sophisticated money laundering schemes involving public officials and young people.
