EFCC Banned Dollar Transactions at Foreign Embassies in Nigeria

Dollar transactions at foreign embassies in Nigeria are now prohibited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft agency declared that transactions at foreign embassies should only be conducted with local money in Nigeria.According to our source, the panel suggested to the Ministry of overseas Affairs to carry out all transactions in Naira at overseas missions.

The instruction is a part of the naira strengthening initiatives, the Commission clarified. In the year following the collapse of the foreign exchange windows by the President Bola Tinubu administration, the value of the naira fell from about N700/$1 to about N1,400/$1.

In the meanwhile, the EFCC has warned Nigerian bank compliance officials not to tell their clients about the anti-graft agency’s investigations.

In a stakeholders’ meeting with compliance officers of banks in Oyo State on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made the call through ACE I Hauwa Garba Ringim, the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Command.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the EFCC admitted that compliance officers notify their clients of ‘letters of investigative activities’ the agency has sent to the banks.

The head of the anti-graft agency claimed that typically, the measure impedes the investigation of financial crimes and postpones the filing of corruption cases in court.