Following the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN
to redesign some Naira notes, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), has said it is monitoring at least three serving State governors who
hoarded billions of Naira in their houses.
The EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who made the
revelation in an interview with Daily Trust on Thursday, said the governors are
planning to pay salary through cash.
The EFCC Chairman said in the interview that the
commission’s raid on Bureau De Change operators would be sustained until the
old Naira notes fade away.
He urged Nigerians to support the system, for the benefit of
all, stressing that any cash transaction beyond five million Naira is a crime.
“Already, some State governors that have some of this cash
stashed in various houses and the rest are now trying to pay salaries in cash
in their State.
“I don’t know how they want to achieve that but we have to
stop them from doing that. Well, we are working, they have not paid the
salaries in cash yet but it is a very serious thing,” he said.
According to Bawa, the move by the governors to launder
stashed money through cash payment of salaries, is against section 2 of the
Money Laundering Prohibition Act.
When quizzed on whether the commission would summon the said
governors, Bawa said they were closely monitoring them.
“The law is very clear regarding cash transactions. Anybody
that is to consummate any cash transaction as an individual, if it is not
through a financial institution, must not be above N5m and if it is above that
it is criminal for you to engage in such transaction. And for corporate
entities, it is N10m.
“Yes, I agree the salaries are not up to that but why are
you all of a sudden, and all along you have been paying people salaries through
their bank accounts and now you want to pay them in cash, what are you trying
to do? They will come under a lot of guises, they are trying to do verification
of officers, that is what we have gotten,” Bawa added.
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