Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede has charged financial technology companies across the nation to be vigilant and insulate their networks from manipulative antics of fraudsters.
He gave the charge in Abuja on Thursday while addressing Chief Executive Officers of fintechs at an industry engagement meeting held at the corporate headquarters of the commission.
Olukoyede applauded the corporate office executives on their strides in opening global financial space and visual asset platforms for the entire country through measurable inclusion and innovation, cautioning them against fraudsters who are exploiting the same space to perpetrate criminal activities.
He said, “The opportunities you have created have also given the criminals the opportunity to perpetrate crimes and over the years, we discovered that there is a need for us to meet from time to time even in the interest of your business.
“We will also tell you the things that we are privy to in respect of your operations and services that we think the criminals are actually exploiting and how to block those spaces and strengthen the regulatory regime around the business you do,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration between the EFCC and the fintechs for a sound working relationship and intelligence sharing.
Olukoyede enjoined the business executives to jealously guard the integrity and reputation of their businesses, stressing that good reputation easily grows businesses.
“It has taken some of you years to get to where you are and I tell you, one transaction mishandled can destroy what you have built for ten years, you must be conscious of your reputation, that is the most valuable thing you need to grow in a business, not even the money.
“Once a reputation is damaged, you can hardly get it back. We want to collaborate with you, work with you and that is one of the ways to fulfil our own mandate,” he said.
Olukoyede further stated that every business player in the country should always work in synergy with others in order to strengthen the regulatory regime and build strength against threats to the economy like insecurity.
He particularly cautioned fintechs to firm up their networks against terrorism financing by complying with extant regulations regarding suspicious transaction reporting.
“We have been complaining about insecurity in Nigeria, of course we are also vested with the power to investigate terrorism financing and one of the areas we have seen that these people exploit is your space, we think it is high time we did something about that.
“People pay ransom and we discover that most times they collect the ransom through the POS, so what can we do to tidy up this loose end, whether by virtue of doing your KYC or coming up with other ideas?” he said.
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