Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over a total of $180, 300 US dollars to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on behalf of victims of financial crimes in Canada.
The EFCC also handed over 53 vehicles stolen from Canada and recovered in Nigeria.
While handing over the recoveries, the chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukayode, said out of the $180, 300 US dollars, $164, 000 was stolen from a Canadian, Elena Bogomas, in a romance scam, while $16,300 dollars was stolen from Sandra Butler.
Olukayode further said one of the fraudsters used his proceeds to buy an estate but was later arrested, prosecuted and jailed while the properties were sold to recover the funds.
” It’s common knowledge that financial crimes have taken a new turn all across the globe. It has become a global problem. Both Afghans and non-Afghans have spent a lot of time in their countries. The people who perpetrate these crimes, they do it in such a way that we discover that their activities are quite borderless and barbaric. They employ all kinds of means to ensure that they move across various jurisdictions. That’s why it has become very necessary and imperative for us to collaborate with our friends across the world. People share the same objective and mandate with us.
“What the EFCC is doing today is doing on behalf of the federal government of Nigeria and also demonstrating the fact that the president has given us the mandate to extend our hands to ensure that this particular problem is resolved and that is exactly what we are doing here today. So first, it is a demonstration of our commitment to the inter-agency in this country.
“Secondly, it is also a demonstration of the fact that the Nigerian government does not tolerate financial crimes. Not only that, we are going to pursue it because not only that, we will investigate, we will recover, we will prosecute and we will ensure that the victim is restituted. And that is what we are doing today.
“We have recovered money, financial assets, and also we have recovered vehicles on behalf of the victims in Canada. As a matter of fact, the total 53 vehicles were recovered on behalf of the victims. And also, in one instance, we had $164,000 U.S. dollars given to a Canadian victim known as Eleanor Bogomas. And also, we have here, which we will present to you today, another sum of $16,000 U.S. dollars stolen from another victim known as Sandra Butler. So what we have here is the handing over of the victims, on behalf of the victims, to the police.”
While appreciating the EFCC, the regional officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Nasser Sadiou said, “I am really happy to be here. I feel like being home. I am very happy with the recovery and we appreciate the EFCC to the job they have done.”