Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has sounded a fresh warning about the growing use of cryptocurrency and digital assets by corrupt politicians to conceal stolen funds and bypass anti-corruption surveillance systems.
Speaking in Kaduna on Thursday at an event marking the Africa Anti-Corruption Day, Olukoyede—represented by Bawa Usman Kaltungo, Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Kaduna office—highlighted the emergence of virtual assets fraud and dubious investment schemes as rapidly evolving threats that may soon surpass conventional money laundering tactics in Africa.
“Another rising criminal engagement that has the potential to outpace even money laundering is virtual assets and investment scams,” Olukoyede said while addressing stakeholders, including anti-graft agencies, financial experts, and civil society representatives.
He stressed that while virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based tokens are not illegal in themselves, their misuse by criminals presents a serious and growing challenge to financial integrity and anti-corruption efforts.
“Fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies,” he explained. “Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets, and payments for services are being routed through this channel.”
Olukoyede also warned that Africa continues to lose billions of dollars annually through illicit financial flows, with money laundering still leading the pack.
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However, the use of digital platforms for fraud is rising swiftly, particularly through fake investment schemes and Ponzi platforms that promise unrealistic returns.
He cited the commission’s successful investigation and prosecution of the notorious CBEX scam as proof of its growing capacity to combat digital financial crimes.
“Virtual assets fraud and investment scams are not hard nuts to crack,” he said. “Our proactive, broad-based training and intelligence gathering have exposed several such schemes.”
Olukoyede expressed concern over the rapid spread of Ponzi schemes and unregulated investment platforms that exploit financially vulnerable Nigerians, warning that they are worsening economic hardship and public distrust in legitimate financial systems.
“Every exploitation of investors in any guise is considered a fraudulent act,” he asserted.
He also blamed public carelessness for enabling these frauds, noting that many victims of scams like CBEX failed to perform due diligence or report suspicious transactions until after they had lost money.
“No investment scam can succeed without the negligence of investors. Many victims could have avoided losses if they had done proper checks,” he said.
The EFCC Chairman urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, verify investment opportunities, and report any suspicious financial activities to authorities promptly.
He assured that the commission is intensifying efforts to adapt its investigative tools to keep pace with evolving digital crime tactics.