* Warns institutions against suspicious transactions
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Office, yesterday arrested a serving soldier, Lance Corporal Ajayi Kayode, and 26 others over alleged internet fraud in the Lekki axis of Lagos State.
This is coming as the acting Chairman of the commission, Mr. Mohammed Umar, yesterday warned Designated Non-Financial Institutions (DNFIs) across the country against unreported suspicious transactions to appropriate government agencies.
Kayode, with service number: NAF18/34732, was arrested in his military attire during an early morning raid at 6B Fatai Idowu Arobike, Lekki Phase 1, on August 15, 2020, following intelligence received from concerned members of the public about his alleged involvement in criminal activities.
He was arrested along with Kalu Emmanuel, Hassan Sunday, Odinaka David Okem, Victor Ochiabuito, Christopher Prince, Victor Ologhu, Alex Aka, Miracle Onyekwere, Habeeb Ayomide, Olakunle Ajeigbu, Rasheed Olanrewaju and Salam Hakeem.
Others are Adeniran Nurudeen, Opeyemi Ojo Chris, Derrick Moris, Shehu Oluoti, Fuad Akinbayo, Babatunde Idowu, Uzo Igwe Nathaniel, Debowale Adedoyin, Shegun Emmanuel, Godswill Maduchem, Samson Kazeem, Oluwatobi Oluwatoba, Olaitan Ajao and Oyindamola Kareem.
In his statement made to the EFCC, Kayode said the “big shot Yahoo boys” in whose company he was arrested, were his friends, and that they had been teaching him how to make money through cybercrime.
An EFCC statement said the ‘boys’ are allegedly members of Organised Cyber Criminal Syndicate Network (OCCSN), as the ladies arrested with them confirmed the involvement of their “boyfriends” in internet fraud.
Items recovered from the suspects included diamond jewelry, exotic cars and expensive phones.
The suspects will be charged to court soon.
Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Umar, yesterday warned Designated Non-Financial Institutions, (DNFIs) across the country against unreported suspicious transactions to appropriate government agencies.
He said stiff penalties would be meted out to any erring DFNI in this regard.
Umar made the declaration at the EFCC Academy in Karu, Abuja, during the opening ceremony of a four-day training on ‘Asset Tracing and Investigation’ organised by the EFCC for its officers, drawn from its 14 zonal offices.
The training, which was aimed at further equipping the commission officers with skills on how to trace, identify and recover proceeds of economic and financial crimes, included a course on Microsoft Excel geared towards aiding investigative officers in building database, and skill acquisition on chart linking on recovered assets.
Represented by the Academy’s acting Commandant, Itam Nnaghe Obono, Umar stated that “if any of the defaulting DNFIs is penalised and used as an example, others will all wake up to complying with the requirement of the law which mandates them to report all transactions within a stipulated threshold.”
DFNIs are statutorily required to file reports of suspicious transactions to the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) domiciled in the EFCC.
