The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has warned that a rising number of corrupt politicians in Nigeria are now turning to cryptocurrency as a safe haven for their illicit wealth.
Speaking on Thursday at an event marking Africa Anti-Corruption Day, Olukoyede explained that investigations have revealed a pattern where public officials involved in fraud are increasingly using crypto wallets to conceal stolen funds and move money without detection.
He described the shift to digital currencies as a sophisticated tactic to bypass traditional banking surveillance and frustrate anti-corruption efforts.
Other speakers at the event expressed concern that while politicians exploit cryptocurrencies to hide looted funds, ordinary Nigerians continue to suffer losses to crypto-related scams. They cited the recent collapse of CBEX, which wiped out over N1.3 trillion in citizens’ investments, as a stark example of the risks facing the public.
Olukoyede said, “Virtual asset fraud is on the rise. Our findings show that fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative blackness of anti-corruption agencies.
“Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets and payment for services are being done through this window,” he said.
Other speakers at the event lamented that Nigerians usually fell victim to crypto fraud, including the recent CBEX scam, where Nigerians lost over N1.3tn.
Olukoyede said, “Virtual asset fraud is on the rise. Our findings show that fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative blackness of anti-corruption agencies.
“Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets and payment for services are being done through this window,” he said.
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The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, said on Thursday that corrupt politicians in Nigeria had begun to exploit cryptocurrencies as a means to conceal stolen public funds and avoid detection by anti-corruption agencies.
He noted during his address commemorating Africa Anti-Corruption Day that while virtual assets were originally developed to serve as legitimate stores of value in line with economic principles, they had quickly become tools for laundering illicit wealth.
Olukoyede explained that technology was advancing rapidly worldwide, and with it came both opportunities and risks. He stated that although cryptocurrencies were designed to fulfil the traditional role of money as a store of value, fraudulent individuals had already found ways to manipulate their use.
He also pointed out that despite the sophistication of these schemes, the EFCC was not powerless in tackling them. He said the commission had been able to uncover such fraudulent activities through proactive intelligence gathering and specialised training.
According to him, the commission’s capacity-building initiatives were already yielding results, as they had enhanced officers’ ability to identify, investigate, and prosecute complex crypto-related frauds.