The House of Representatives has ordered the probe of various departments and agencies of the Federal Government over illicit financial flows in the country.
At the plenary yesterday, the House specifically mandated its Committees on Finance; Anti-Corruption; Financial Crimes; Banking and Currency; and Insurance and Actuarial Matters to investigate the phenomenon of illicit financial flows and appraise the Federal Governments current policy framework to curb the continuous loss of Nigeria’s revenues to illicit financial flows.
The House also mandated the Committees on Finance; National Planning and Economic Development; Anti-Corruption; Financial Crimes; Banking; and Currency and, Insurance and Actuarial Matters to appraise the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS)s current framework for identifying, tracing, preventing and sanctioning cross-border tax evasion and other illicit financial outflows.
The committees are to invite the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and Heads of the FIRS; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC); Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN); Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, (ICPC); Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit,(NFIU); Nigerian Export-Import Bank, (NEXIM); Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and any other relevant institution.
These resolutions followed the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Chairman of the House Committee on Local Content, Ochiglegor Idagbo, titled: Need to Appraise Nigerias Legal Framework against Illicit Financial Flows.
Idagbo explained that IFF is the cross-border transfer of capital that was illegally earned, transferred or utilised, and often consists of commercial money laundering, tax evasion and proceeds of corruption and criminal activities.
The lawmaker noted that the socio-economic development of Nigeria has deeply suffered due to the unabated cross-border financial dealings of the nations revenues resulting from illicit financial flows.
