News
EFCC boss, Bawa, says cryptos now favourite currencies of criminals
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has disclosed that cryptocurrencies are now the new favourite currency for criminal activities.
Bawa said cryptocurrency aids illegal financial transactions, and such usage poses a threat to global economy.
He stated this during the 38th Cambridge international symposium, held on Monday.
He said cyber criminals now transact in bitcoin and Ethereum to hide their identity with the two most popular and safest cryptocurrencies in the world.
The EFCC boss said developed countries are not immune to the change in strategy by cyber criminals.
This was contained in a statement released by Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesperson, on Tuesday.
Read also: Bawa reveals EFCC keeps $20m recovered cryptocurrency loot in e-wallet
Bawa said, “Economic crimes, which are largely illegal acts committed for private gain, affect the vital structures of global economies, causing significant damage to the global financial system and depriving developing nations of the needed resources for sustainable development.”
He added that, “Criminals now elect to transact or receive illegal monies (such as ransom money) for cyber-attacks in cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin and Ethereum as the most commonly used medium of these exchanges.”
He said the stability of global financial institutions is threatened by the proliferation of cyber-crimes. Bawa explained that victims of cyber crime have paid more for the criminal acts than the perpetrators themselves, “the perpetrators of acts and not the victims pay for their crimes”.
In the statement, Bawa said, “As the victims of crime continue to suffer globally from the effects of financial crimes, either directly or indirectly as part of a social system, the determination of who pays or who should pay becomes a critical measure of the criminal justice system in place.”
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are currently restricted in Nigeria by the country’s central bank, and the regulator is planning on introducing government-backed digital currency.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...