The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday said it was monitoring more suspected Nigerian fraudsters apart from the 80 names released by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Ibadan zonal head of the EFCC, Friday Ebelo, said, “Bigger suspects have been put on the commission’s watch list and will be tracked before long.”
Speaking at a press conference at the commission’s zonal office in Ibadan, Ebelo said some bankers and Bureau De Change operators conniving to swindle victims were also on the list. He disclosed that a banker was arrested on Monday and was facing interrogation. Ebelo, who gave an analysis of how the syndicate worked across the globe to dupe victims, urged parents to be vigilant and train their wards in profitable ventures.
He named a suspect, Ajayi Festus, arrested in Ado-Ekiti for alleged illicit transactions. He explained that Ajayi worked with cybercriminals abroad to illegally access accounts of individuals and organisations to defraud them of their money. “We were able to establish a number of illicit transactions through his Nigerian bank account amounting to over N223m. Ajayi serves as the conduit through which proceeds of crimes reach members of the syndicate. His cuts in the deals total over N75m.
“The suspect is still helping the commission in its investigations. He surely will have his days in court as soon as investigations are concluded and the matter is ripe for prosecution,” Ebelo said. He noted that the suspect would be revealed after providing the anti-graft agency with more information about his crime network. “The zone is unrelenting on the mandate of the commission to combat all forms of economic and financial crimes and the effort is yielding result, our longstanding collaborative engagement with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies remain intact and yielding mutual benefits.” Punch
Pix: EFCC operatives
