According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), politicians are increasingly using cyber fraudsters to steal money and move it to offshore accounts.
Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the EFCC, said this during a briefing in Abuja on Monday.
He added that the politicians’ criminal acts expose systemic corruption in Nigeria’s political and governance structures.
Olukoyede added that the anti-graft Agency’s investigations have revealed how Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) collude with fraudsters to open cryptocurrency wallets and transfer stolen monies abroad to buy luxury items like as vehicles and residences.
He stated: “When they (politically exposed persons) steal money in billions, they give it to these boys, they open crypto wallets, and from there, the money goes abroad.” Most of these politically exposed people identify these lads, put them in hotels, and the boys register accounts so they can transfer the money outside.”
The EFCC chairman also voiced alarm about the fraudsters’ escalating criminal activities, which now encompass banditry, kidnapping, and ritual killings in addition to cybercrime.
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He stated that when their schemes failed, they turned to violent crimes, jeopardizing Nigerians’ safety and security.
“The most hazardous component of it is not simply the yahoo-yahoo; some of these guys are involved in banditry and kidnapping. When they don’t see people scam on time, they turn to these vices,” Olukoyede explained.
In addition to their criminal acts, Olukoyede regretted that these scammers had caused Nigeria national humiliation and ruined the country’s reputation on a global scale.
He stated, “If you travel abroad with your green passport and stand in line among so many people, you will see that at the time you produce the passport, the folks (immigration inspectors) will look at you with some reservations.
“That is, if they do not pull you away for extra inspection. That is a national embarrassment that some young Nigerians (yahoo-yahoo lads) have brought us.
