ZAWYA: Nigeria: How public funds were moved from LG account into crypto wallets ?

By Staff Writer

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has disclosed how public funds were moved from a local government account to a private company and later transferred into cryptocurrency wallets.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Monday while addressing media executives and journalists in Abuja.

Olukoyede said the commission could not ignore the movement of the funds, which it considered suspicious. However, he did not disclose the local government, company or state involved.

He said the commission’s Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department detected the transactions and froze the funds for 72 hours to determine where they were going and why.

Olukoyede expressed displeasure over calls for his removal following the action taken by the commission.

He said, “When we see money moving suspiciously, we move in and freeze it in the interim. I know some of you are calling for my head. The account was frozen for 72 hours. Okay, come and show where this money is going? Why are you moving money? We saw money being moved from the local government account to a company. Apart from that phase, we discovered that the money has gone into cryptocurrency wallets.

“Is that the road to build? Is that the power to generate cryptocurrency wallets for your people? Are you asking me to close my eyes and not do something like that? Then you don’t need me in this office.”