Directly or indirectly, money launderers are the top financiers of terrorism, fraud experts have said.
Speaking through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the experts observed that looters are involved because sources of funds for terrorists come through charity, personal donations and through sympathetic organizations, giving terrorists succour for funds that come out of illicit transactions.
According to the Nation, the experts spoke through the president of the association, Dr Godwin Oyedokun during a training of its members in Lagos.
According to Oyedokun, anyone who gets his money through a corrupt means will want to spend it without being caught, they devise various means through which to move funds out of the country.
Most times, these things are done deliberately and moved to areas where terrorist use them to finance and carry out their heinous acts.
He further noted that there is no doubting that there is a nexus between financial crimes, money laundering and terrorism.
He said: “Money laundering on the onset used to do with only drug dealers and petty criminals. Now, it is a pandemic because politicians are getting involved; competing for whose figure will be larger than the other.
“Commonwealth of countries are stolen and moved to other counties that never worked for it, leaving the source countries poor and worse off.
“Worldwide, the effect of money laundering is devastating and used in financing terrorists. It is affecting economies of nations.”
He faulted that none has yet been effectively brought to book on the corruption paddle.
Another forensic expert, Dan Ogbonna, who delivered a paper on same issue, said the training is to teach its members the anatomy of fraud and how to profile it and prevent it. Also what dimension it can come and how it can be detected.
To him, in fraud related matters, prevention is better than detection and it is quite cheaper to prevent than to detect.
“So, we are teaching our members now to identify bribery that does not pass through a financial system.
“Also, because other fraudulent activities may be easy to trace, but bribery may not, especially bribery that passes through the unofficial channel.Hand to hand delivery bribes as compared to banks transfer that can be traced.”
Ogbonna, who is the financial controller of a group of manufacturing conglomerates and a member of ACFE, warned that the country is not giving the issue of bribery the kind of seriousness it deserves. He described it as ‘mysterious and complex’.
“Fraud examiners are gatekeepers and have to be very vigilant. They need to sit every transaction carefully and be aware of the many local and international legislations of how money is moved. They need to be aware of the trend and various methodologies of money laundering.”
On the issue of the Paris Club Fund found in the Governors’ Forum account, he noted that Nigeria has become a complicated nation where the more you look, the less you see.
“A lot a people need to be questioned on that and a lot of answers are required.
“If a particular fund is supposed to be for the official purpose, it should by no means get into another account.”
“The money is losing its value and also the interest that it would have generated is lost to bankers crediting such into another account.”
Oyedokun was happy with the number of turn of whistleblowers urging that people come out more.
“Let us not look at the percentage reward aspect of it, but the general and invisible reward that if the system is ok, we will all walk safely in the country.
“The names that have been called out in corruption should be a signal to others not to be caught in the corruption web. It is a deterrence strategy in the right direction that can be improved upon.”
He said though the government is yet to commission the Association on its expertise, it is carrying out independent advocacy.