EFCC hands over recovered assets to Canada
EFCC returns stolen 53 vehicles, $180,300 to Canada
A total of 53 vehicles stolen by fraudsters were returned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Also handed over by the Chairman of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, in Abuja,
was $180,300 stolen from Canadian citizens.
During the handover, the Chairman of the Commission said out of the 180,300 US dollar, 164,000 US dollars was stolen from a Canadian woman, Elena Bogomas in a romance scam, while 16,300 us dollars was stolen from one Sandra Butler.
He said the assets returned demonstrated the inter-agency cooperation between Nigeria and other countries in the fight against corruption.
According to him, “We are here today to witness the handover of assets recovered on behalf of Canadian victims of cybercrime. The operations have taken a couple of years and have resulted in a substantial recovery.
“It is important for us to let our colleagues and friends from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police know that as an agency, the EFCC, and as a country, Nigeria is always ready to fight financial crimes. Nigeria should not necessarily be seen as a hub of financial crimes. It is a transit town, as are Canada and most countries across the world because people move from one jurisdiction to another.
“This is also a demonstration that the Nigerian government will never tolerate any act of financial crime.”
Olukoyede explained that, “In total, 53 vehicles were recovered on behalf of the victims. In one instance, $164,000 was taken from Elena, and $16,300 was also recovered. These will be handed over to the Canadian police to return to the victims.”
He promised to reinvigorate investigation, prosecution, and recovery of assets from victims of financial crimes.