By Bode Ayomide
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has uncovered two major fraud schemes that allegedly siphoned over eighteen-point-seven billion naira from hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, the Director of Public Affairs of the EFCC, Commander Wilson Uwujaren, stressed that the frauds were orchestrated by foreign criminal networks, working with local collaborators and aided by lapses within parts of the financial system.
One of the schemes involved a fake airline ticket discount operation that targeted Nigerians, particularly foreign travellers. Investigations revealed that more than seven hundred victims lost over six hundred and fifty-one million naira through the scheme.
The EFCC said it has so far recovered and returned over thirty-three million naira to affected victims.
Uwujaren also explained that there is another large-scale fraud involving a bogus investment platform known as Fred and Farid Investment Limited, or FF Investment, which allegedly defrauded more than two hundred thousand Nigerians of over eighteen billion naira.
According to the EFCC, foreign nationals masterminded the investment fraud, while three Nigerian accomplices have been arrested and charged to court.
One principal suspect has also been apprehended, while others are still at large.
The Commission raised serious concerns over alleged weaknesses in Nigeria’s financial system, revealing that a new-generation bank and several fintech and microfinance institutions failed to observe basic Know Your Customer procedures, allowing fraud proceeds to pass through the system unchecked.
The EFCC said investigations showed that about eighteen-point-seven-four billion naira linked to the frauds moved through financial institutions without proper scrutiny.
