Hundreds thousands of dollars laundered from Nigeria every hour – Interpol

The International Police Organisation (Interpol) has revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being laundered out of Nigeria every hour.

Interpol Vice President for Africa, Garba Umar, said this at the inauguration of a four-day training workshop for Nigerian law enforcement agencies at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy in Abuja.

“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region and across the world, laundered before it reaches the pockets of criminals to enjoy the profits of their crimes, while the hardworking and honest Nigerians pay the price of crime,” Umar said.

Umar said that money laundering across Africa and the entire world has assumed a monstrous dimension and Interpol has designed Silver Notices to combat the menace.

“With every successful laundering of criminal money, our country becomes more prone to crime. More drugs, more fraud, more corruption and more violence. Every time criminal money is successfully laundered, our financial institutions take an additional blow,”

To address this, Interpol has introduced Silver Notices, designed to combat the laundering of illicit funds globally.

Umar noted the importance of the workshop, themed “Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Financial Crimes,” which aims to provide law enforcement agencies with the necessary skills and strategies to stay ahead of sophisticated financial criminals.

He urged participants at the workshop to make it a duty to discuss and learn about transnational crimes affecting their regions, identify possible solutions through a review of policing capabilities to support the country, and facilitate direct and in-person interaction amongst law enforcement networks across the country.

“In essence, this Workshop will allow us to re-examine the challenges of fighting transnational crimes in the country, reassess our strategies, and reaffirm our determination and unity as a country to provide security to our citizens and by extension the global community,” he said.

Umar also charged all participants at the workshop to take collabouration with other law enforcement agencies seriously, to advance their investigations and to ensure that criminals do not get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

“The only way we can move forward as a country is by working together and identifying common problems, jointly devising solutions, and taking coordinated and cohesive action. And now is the time that we need to go far, by going together, he said.