According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), politicians are increasingly stealing money and transferring it into overseas accounts using online scammers.
Ola Olukoyede, the head of the EFCC, said this during a briefing on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, the politicians’ illegal actions expose structural corruption in Nigeria’s political and governmental structures.
“The anti-graft agency’s investigations have revealed how Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) work with scammers to open cryptocurrency wallets and transfer stolen funds overseas to buy luxury items like cars and houses,” Olukoyede said.
When they (politically exposed individuals) take billions of dollars, he claims, “they give it to these boys, who open crypto wallets, and then the money goes abroad.” The boys open accounts so they may withdraw the money overseas when the majority of these politically exposed people find them and book them in hotels.
Concerning the fraudsters’ expanding criminal operations, which now encompass banditry, kidnapping, and ritual killings in addition to cybercrime, the EFCC chairman also voiced his concerns.
He pointed out that after their frauds failed, they turned to violent crimes, putting Nigerians’ safety and security at even greater risk.
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Some of these men are involved in kidnapping and banditry, so it’s not only yahoo-yahoo that poses a threat. “They turn to these vices when they don’t see people to scam on time,” Olukoyede clarified.
In addition to their illegal operations, Olukoyede bemoaned the fact that these con artists’ actions have damaged Nigeria’s name internationally and caused shame to the nation.
“If you travel overseas with your green passport and find yourself in a long line with a lot of people, you will find that by the time you show the passport, the people (immigration officers) will look at you with some uncertainty,” he stated.
That is, if you aren’t pulled away for a closer examination. We are ashamed as a nation because of the yahoo-yahoo lads who are young Nigerians.
