The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has revealed that investigations into 200 companies referred to the commission by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have uncovered significant irregularities.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the Chairman of the CAC Board, Ibrahim M. Ida, and other board members during a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
During the meeting, Senator Ida raised concerns over the low level of compliance among Point of Sale (POS) operators, revealing that only about 20 per cent of operators nationwide are registered with the CAC, contrary to the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Agent Banking Regulations, 2026.
According to him, intelligence available to the commission indicates that proceeds of criminal activities, including ransom payments from kidnapping operations, are sometimes channelled through unregistered POS terminals, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s financial system.
To address the challenge, the CAC chairman proposed deeper collaboration between the commission and the EFCC in three critical areas: data and intelligence sharing on suspicious companies, joint public awareness campaigns on corporate governance and financial crime risks, and capacity-building programmes for personnel to tackle emerging threats related to company law and economic crimes.
Responding, Olukoyede disclosed that more than 80 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are committed through procurement fraud and the activities of registered companies.
He described the regulation of POS operators as one of the major challenges confronting the country’s financial ecosystem, stressing the need for stronger oversight and enforcement.
The EFCC chairman also called for a review of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the commission and the CAC to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and support broader reforms aimed at combating economic and financial crimes in the country.
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