Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has revealed that the Federal Government has seized over N45 billion illegally looted from the national treasury.
According to him, government also identified several individuals and entities linked to terrorist activities, adding that funds traced to these individuals have been confiscated.
Fagbemi made this known during the 40th Technical Commission/Plenary Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), held at the State House, Abuja.
He said, “We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.
“This sustained investment has led to increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions consistently since 2021, with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions, and almost 500 convictions secured, resulting in over 45 billion naira of illicit proceeds seized.
“We have also made progress in tackling the financing of terrorism and in particular, I am pleased that we have identified and designated a number of individuals and entities linked to terrorist activity and seized funds linked to them.
“The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has become a global model and achieved the outcomes envisaged by the passage of its enabling legislation in 2018, which established it as an independent, autonomous unit.
“The Unit has significantly expanded the scope of financial intelligence it has access to and provides to other competent authorities.
“The Unit has also put in place a number of innovative technologies, including the Crime Records Information Management System (CRIMS), which has transformed our approach to intelligence sharing.”
