The Lagos State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, Zubairu Muazu, has canvassed the collaborative efforts of all agencies at local and international levels to find lasting solution to issues of money laundering, fraud, corruption and other related issues that are currently suffusing the nation’s economy.
Mauzu, who spoke in Lagos at the inauguration of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Lagos Chapter, said: “The issues of fraud corruption, money laundry are all issues of international concern so there must be collaboration between all agencies within and outside the country.
He disclosed that there was a lot of international cooperationalready going on;saying that United Nations (UN) legislations, African Union (AU) legislations and local legislations would ensure that the fight against corruption and fraud related issues was deepened.
Lauding the initiative of the inaugurated group, Muazu said: Bringing together fraud management specialists is very necessary and I believe this training is also going to assist by no means in getting to our destination in terms of fraud management.
According to him, the event, which also featured a seminar on “Certified Fraud Examiners’ Role in Economic Development and Transformation”, must become an elixir to fraud to become more intelligent, knowledgeable, honest and impartial in dealing with fraud issues so as to succeed in the fight against the threat.
Muazu said that lack of professionals in the investigation team, slow response to enquiries by agencies, slow judicial process, evidence and judicial process with other challenges remained constrains to effective fight against fraud in the country.
He urged financial institutions in the country to regularly report frauds to necessary regulatory bodies and ensure that proper records were kept as well as to respond swiftly to law enforcement investigations.
The president of the association, Godwin Oyedokun said that there must good governance and leadership both at the private and public sector to halt fraud in the country.
“Corruption and economic self-indulgence impact negatively on the effort to transform Economic, therefore, economic transformational leadership must ensure they observe the components of transformational leadership”, he stated.
Oyedokun added that fraud examination as well as forensic accounting techniques should be integrated in developmental effort by transformational leadership so as to bring about desired national development
Commenting on the determination of the nation’s President, Muhammadu Buhari to end corruption, Oyedokun said the President must ensure that his teams were verified before they could be trusted.
Also, describing the inauguration as a groundbreaking achievement, he noted that the sector had face challenges in the areas of fraud examination and forensic investigation because there was no umbrella body for the operations of the professionals.
