Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed that terrorists are covertly using young cryptocurrency traders in Nigeria to finance terrorism. According to Olukoyede, many of these traders are unaware that their financial backers are involved in sponsoring terrorism.
During an event organized by civil society organizations in Abuja, Olukoyede revealed that some of the 1,146 bank accounts recently frozen by the EFCC were being used to channel funds for terrorism. The event, titled “Multi-stakeholders’ National Dialogue on Preventing Terrorism Financing and Violent Extremism,” took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, on Thursday.
Olukoyede stated, “Many people are familiar with our (The Efcc) efforts in investigating virtual currency trading, including cryptocurrencies. These platforms have the potential to fund terrorism, and many people do not realize this. Some of our findings during these investigations were astonishing. While Binance was a significant platform in these activities, there are other platforms we have discovered. Some young traders are unaware that the funds they receive for trading come from those who sponsor terrorism.”
He emphasized the need to adopt advanced technology to track money used in terrorism financing within Nigeria. Olukoyede shared insights from a conversation with a colleague in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who informed him that dollar bills could be tracked globally through technology.
Olukoyede added, “It is crucial for us to embrace technological solutions. In a discussion with an FBI assistant director, he mentioned that their systems in the U.S. can track any printed dollar worldwide. Nigeria needs to reach a similar level of technological capability to track naira notes used for terrorism financing.”
The EFCC chairman’s remarks underscore the importance of technological advancements in combating financial crimes and preventing the use of cryptocurrencies and other platforms to fund terrorism in Nigeria.
