Worried by the invasion of unwholesome practices by fraudsters alleged to be perpetrating illegal cryptocurrency transactions and robbing unsuspecting Nigerians of their earnings, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has advocated for tougher measures against culprits.
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He, therefore, charged the House of Representatives to effectively regulate the activities of illegal cryptocurrency operators, noting that they pose a great danger to the nation’s fight against corruption.
The ICPC chairman who stated this yesterday in his address at a two-day Capacity building retreat for members of House of Representatives Committee on Anti Corruption, (ICPC) Board members and Directors at wattbrige hotel and suites in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, explained that kidnappers, bandits now operate under the cover of cryptocurrency anonymity to perpetrate evil.
Owasanoye pointed out that virtual currency transactions have become a major threat to the anti-graft investigators, explaining that cryptocurrency is now being used as leverage for terrorists financing and sundry criminals activities.
According to him the current National Identification Number (NIN) registration and linking it with SIM cards is a pointer to the fact that insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, and drug merchants, have used the anonymity of unregistered SIM cards to commit their crimes with relative ease.
“Cryptocurrencies guarantee similar anonymity and can easily be used as leverage for terrorist financing and other crimes.
“With the NIN registration, cryptocurrencies have become an alternative payment platform for kidnappers and this would be impossible for law enforcement agencies to trace.
“Citing a case of an investigation by the commission on money laundering involving several hundreds of millions of naira, he lamented that the anonymity of digital currencies has led to its utilisation for criminal activities.
“The main suspect used technology in placing the money in the banking sector. A sizable amount was traced to several bank accounts but before investigators recovered some of the money, a large proportion had been made to disappear using serpentine ICT-aided transfer schemes that have so far eluded investigators.
“While the persons whose accounts were used have been located, the criminal mastermind has remained invisible and unidentified.
“This real ongoing case is a glimpse into the world of anonymity of virtual or digital transactions. With cryptocurrency, the wallet of the user of cryptocurrency system only stores information or encrypted links in the blockchain where transaction confirmation can be found,” he stressed.
He explained that the retreat was organized to enable its interface with the lawmakers and intimate them on some of the challenges facing the Commission as well as update them on its achievements and future goals.
The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Anti Corruption, Hon. Garba Shehu in his keynote address said that “the Committee knows ICPC’s constraints and that it was willing to help the Commission to achieve its objectives.”
Garba, who said the central role of the Committee, was basically to ensure that “corruption is a nip in the bud to safe the Country” appreciated the work of ICPC, but said that more still needed to be done to encourage the Commission to achieve its objectives.
“We are ready to support and assist the Commission in their onerous task of fighting graft and we are encouraging them to beam their searchlight on private individuals and companies just as they did in the public sector,” he stated.
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