The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, on Friday handed over €5,100 proceeds of crime to the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Juan Ignacio Sell.
The sum was recovered from a Nigerian romance fraudster for a Spanish victim, Heinz Uchtmann, by the EFCC in collaboration with the Spanish Police
In a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC chairman said that the resources controlled by criminals worldwide outstrip the wealth of the technology industry.
Olukoyede added that the borderless nature of internet crimes has made collaboration and partnership among countries and law enforcement agencies essential. He reaffirmed the EFCC’s commitment to making Nigeria an inhospitable environment for corrupt and fraudulent individuals.
“On our path, we are resolute to ensure that Nigeria is not made a safe haven for financial criminals and corrupt people. We do it to cleanse our system in collaboration with our partners across the world. We are much more ready to continue to do that. In the interest of both countries, we must do what we have to do. There must be mutual trust, mutual support for us to ensure that we cleanse the global financial ecosystem from being destroyed,” the statement read.
Sell, in his response, lauded the collaboration between the EFCC and Spanish Police and pledged the commitment of the Spanish government to strengthen and take it higher.