EFCC Chairman decries illicit financial flows, pledges tighter oversight on virtual assets

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has condemned the growing threat posed by illicit financial flows in Africa, describing it as a major obstacle to the continent’s development. 

He linked the trend, which results in losses running into billions of dollars annually, to a wide range of criminal activities, with money laundering ranking as the most prevalent.

Speaking through the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC in Benin, Mr Effa Okim, at a public lecture held in Benin City to mark the 2025 African Union Anti-Corruption Day, Olukoyede said that while virtual assets are not criminal in themselves, they often become tools of illicit transactions when used improperly. 

He pointed to the increasing cases of fraud involving virtual currencies and assured stakeholders that such issues were not insurmountable.

“As a law enforcement agency, the EFCC recognises the emerging threats in the digital financial space. While virtual assets like cryptocurrency are not by nature illegal, their misuse opens doors for laundering, terrorism financing, and other transnational crimes. But these are not hard nuts to crack,” he said.

The lecture, themed “Understanding Virtual Asset and Investment Fraud,” was organised by the EFCC Benin Zonal Command to raise awareness on the regulatory and criminal implications of virtual asset misuse. It featured insights from experts in digital finance and anti-money laundering.

Delivering a presentation, anti-money laundering expert and certified fraud and cryptocurrency investigator, Mr Joshua Obiama, underscored the urgent need for cohesive global regulation of virtual assets. 

He explained that regulatory gaps have created opportunities for criminals, terrorists, and rogue states to exploit digital currencies, often beyond the reach of national laws.

Obiama noted that although some countries have begun regulating virtual assets and others have banned them outright, a vast majority still lack adequate frameworks to monitor or control their use. 

Citing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), he defined virtual currency as a digital representation of value used for exchange and value storage, but not recognised as legal tender in most jurisdictions.

He explained that in Nigeria, the Central Bank’s 2021 directive banning banks from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions was a response to these risks. 

The CBN, he said, viewed the anonymity and decentralization of cryptocurrency as serious threats to national security and financial stability.

Nonetheless, he acknowledged that under the recently signed Investment and Securities Act 2025, virtual and digital assets are now classified as securities in Nigeria. Consequently, their providers are subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A second lecture, delivered by Mr Idris Oluremi, focused on investment fraud. He linked the surge in fraudulent investment schemes to the country’s worsening economic conditions, with high inflation and poverty pushing many into get-rich-quick ventures.