The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sounded the alarm over the rising incidence of money laundering in Nigeria’s real estate sector, naming some property developers as key enablers due to poor customer verification practices.
In a statement released via its social media channels on Wednesday, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede urged developers to conduct thorough Know Your Customer (KYC) checks on investors to ensure their funds come from legitimate sources.
Speaking in Abuja at an event themed “Tackling Illegal Property Sales, Fake Developers, and Unlicensed Agents”, Olukoyede said the commission’s findings show that money laundering is “very rampant” among real estate stakeholders.
“By virtue of empirical things we have gathered and some of the things we have seen… the issue of money laundering is very rampant among real estate developers and stakeholders in the sector,” he said.
Olukoyede warned that failure to verify customers could have dire consequences:
“If somebody steals money and uses it to buy property from you and we trace that money to you, we will recover it from you, because you can’t sit on the proceeds of crime.”
Compliance gap hurting Nigeria
The EFCC boss lamented that Nigeria’s business environment suffers largely due to weak adherence to regulations.
“The difference between our country and developed countries where things work is just compliance to rules. That’s what we are lacking here.”
He criticised developers who operate without understanding industry regulations, urging them to align their practices with the law for long-term success.
Support for legitimate businesses
While issuing stern warnings, Olukoyede also reassured genuine operators of the EFCC’s support:
“Our job is to make you succeed. When you succeed, you employ more people, and more Nigerians will get jobs to sustain themselves, and the propensity for them to commit financial crime will be reduced.”
He encouraged real estate players to work closely with the anti-graft agency, emphasising that the EFCC’s goal is not to cripple businesses but to safeguard the sector from criminal exploitation.
“You have access to the EFCC, our doors are open. Rest assured that we are not looking for your business to go under,” he said.
The EFCC’s renewed focus on the real estate sector comes amid concerns that illicit funds are increasingly being funneled into property development, posing both economic and security risks.
