The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has raised an alarm over fraudulent petitions it tracked, amounting to over €36 billion claimed to have been transferred from foreign banks to Nigerian banks.

In its advisory to financial institutions, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), and other stakeholders, the NFIU disclosed that the petitions often involve forged documents, fictitious transactions, and deceptive practices intended to exploit the financial system.

According to the unit, most of the funds were alleged to have been transferred from top financial institutions in Europe, maintaining that it has never received a request from counterpart FIUs seeking information on international wire transfers in large sums conducted by foreign investors from other jurisdictions but held up in Nigerian banks.

The NFIU further revealed that most of the entities are briefcase companies, as they do not maintain operating business offices, adding that the development is probably due to the absence of known existing business with a track record.

“A law firm submitted a petition on behalf of its client, an NGO, requesting the NFIU and other relevant agencies to trace and recover the sum of €30,000,000,000.00 (Thirty Billion Euros) only, transferred from a foreign bank to a bank in Nigeria.

“The petition further claimed the funds have been blocked by a financial institution in Nigeria. The purpose of the funds, according to the petition, is for investment in the real estate sector.

“A law firm forwarded a petition on behalf of its client seeking to trace and recover the sum of €6,000,000,000.00 (Six Billion Euros) only, transferred from foreign banks to the client’s Nigerian bank account.

“The funds were meant for the construction of 10 modular refineries in three local government areas in an oil-producing state of Nigeria.

“The law firm wrote to the Police, EFCC, and the NFIU, and appealed for discreet investigation for the tracing and recovery of the funds.

“An individual claimed to be the beneficiary of a transfer of N30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Naira) only. The individual claimed that the funds have been withheld by a bank in Nigeria and wrote to various agencies to investigate and help recover the funds. The agencies then requested the NFIU to trace the funds for recovery.

“A mining company without a license from the Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD) of the NNPC for crude oil sales wrote to an agency alleging that a transfer from Deutsche Bank to a bank in Nigeria has been held by the bank without any justification. A petition was written to an investigating agency to facilitate the tracing and recovery of the funds.”

The Unit urged financial institutions to conduct enhanced due diligence, verify the authenticity of SWIFT messages, promptly reject fraudulent claims, and file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) or Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the NFIU.

It urged the public to be skeptical of unverifiable wire transfer claims, scrutinize investment opportunities, and be aware of common fraud indicators.

For law firms and the NBA, the NFIU directed them to conduct thorough client verification and document authentication before accepting briefs, lamenting that fraudulent petitions exploiting alleged foreign wire transfers pose a growing threat to Nigeria’s financial sector.

“Vigilance, due diligence, and effective collaboration among financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, and the public are crucial to mitigating these risks,” it added.