The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, has called on journalists and other mass media practitioners to focus attention on the reportage on Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Profession (DNFBPs), whose operators were not meeting their obligations to regulatory authorities.
Bawa made the charge in Benin City, Edo State capital on Thursday at a workshop on Economic and Financial Crimes Reporting for journalists.
The EFCC boss, who was represented by the Benin Zonal Commander, Kanu Idagu, said the that new anti-money laundering Act 2022, had repositioned the anti-graft agency in its fight against illicit financial activities and funding of terrorism, adding that the domestication of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) in the Commission had also made the fight against the act severe.
“The Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, SCUML is now fully domesticated in the EFCC, making the fight against money laundering unsparing and broad-based.
“I charge the media to give more attention to the activities of all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs. This is one sector that is under-reported. If we devote more coverage to this sector, in the same way, Financial Institutions are reported, operators in the sector, and indeed the general public will be better informed about their obligations to regulatory authorities and by so doing, refrain from any infraction or compromise of extant laws,” Bawa noted.
The workshop, he added, was one of the efforts of the EFCC to build synergy and strengthen media understanding and appreciation of the work of the Commission.
He further disclosed that the Commission secured 3785 convictions in 2022, a 70.5% improvement over its record for 2021 when it had 2220 convictions and a 98.93% success rate in prosecution, given that according to him, the Commission lost only 41 cases, representing 1.07% within the period.
“Over the years, the media has been one of the Commission’s most critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption. Let me use this opportunity to commend the professional and patriotic efforts of the Fourth Estate of the Realm in beaming searchlights not only on the works of the EFCC but on all shades of economic and financial crimes. The robust reporting of the activities of the Commission has been quite helpful.
“Conviction figures are already rising in 2023 across the various commands of the Commission. This is significant, not only for the Commission but also for the entire nation, as conviction figures are proof of the effectiveness of the war against graft.
“I believe we are all aware of the new mechanism for the fight against money laundering practices in our nation. The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 are fresh legal armaments against illicit financial flows and money laundering. Nigerians need to be more informed about these important legislations and I wish to crave your indulgence to step up active reporting of these laws,” Bawa pleaded.
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