Dipo Olowookere
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A popular currency trader in the Wuse Zone 4 area of Abuja, Mr Mustapha Muhammed, otherwise known as Mustapha Naira, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mustapha Naira was accused of engaging in speculative activities, which the agency described as economic sabotage.
According to a statement issued by the anti-money laundering organisation, the suspect, who is providing useful information in the ongoing investigation, was picked up on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, has promised to sanitise the foreign exchange (FX) market and frustrate currency speculators out of business.
Speaking on Monday on Good Morning Nigeria, a breakfast programme on the network service of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Mr Bawa said the recent raids and arrest of Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Abuja, Lagos, and other cities were a product of intelligence.
“At EFCC, we work with intelligence and with other stakeholders; and when we talk of illegal forex operators you cannot just invite people on the street even though sometimes you could, but generally you do not have a choice but to make arrest,” the EFCC chief, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Operations, Mr Abdulkarim Chukkol, stated.
He stressed that the commission considers forex malpractices as an economic crime against the Nigerian state, adding that in 2016, the organisation created a full-fledge department known as Foreign Exchange Malpractices Section.
He said some of those apprehended in the raids were caught “with $2 million and we know that these huge sums were not meant to be used in buying goods but stolen monies being laundered out of the country,” he said.
Mr Bawa emphasised the need for active inter-agency and stakeholder’s collaboration, pointing out that many of the over 6,000 registered BDCs do not belong to the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria and therefore out of the orbit of regulators.
“The CBN guidelines are clear regarding returns by BDCs, but how many of them do this,” he asked.
