Matthew Tabe
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have seized large amounts of foreign currencies from Nigerians at airports.
Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol, made the revelation on the Good Morning Nigeria programme on NTA on Wednesday.
Chukkol said money laundering is the reason some Bureau De Change (BDC) operators were recently arrested in Lagos and Abuja.
According to him, the raid of currency speculators in the parallel market was not indiscriminate but a product of intelligence.
He said, “Many arrests of cash smugglers have been made and humongous sums in foreign currencies recovered.
“Some were arrested with an excess of $6million, others with $2million.
“We know these huge sums were not meant to be used in buying goods but stolen monies being laundered.”
Chukkol confirmed that the EFCC secured the forfeiture of the monies to the federal government and prosecuted the culprits.