“We’re going after church for receiving N7bn fraud proceeds” – EFCC Chairman

Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has disclosed that the crime agency traced N7 billion, suspected to be proceeds of money laundering, to a religious organisation.

He made this disclosure at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, during a one-day dialogue on “Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption” on Wednesday.

According to the EFCC chairman, the commission discovered another religious group that has been laundering money for terrorists, though he did not reveal their identities.

News outlet, The Punch reports that a source in the anti-graft agency privy to the case confirmed that the N7bn was deposited into the account of a church.

Olukayode stated that some religious organizations, institutions, sects, and bodies in the country had been discovered to be aiding and abetting fraudsters and terrorists.

According to him, the anti-graft agency discovered the laundered N7 billion in a religious organisation’s bank account while investigating a N13 billion fraud.

The EFCC chairman stated that a restraining court order prevented them from proceeding, but he promised that the anti-graft agency would recover the funds through the courts because the order had been appealed.

Olukoyede said; “We were investigating a N13bn money laundering case when we discovered that N7bn of the N13bn was linked to a religious organisation’s bank account.

“When we approached the religious organisation about it and we were carrying out our investigation, we got a restraining order stopping us from carrying out our investigation.”

He added; “No one will be spared, we’ll probe everyone who is suspected to be committing financial crimes, and these includes members of the executive, legislative, and judiciary arms of government”.