THE FIGHT AGAINST ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIME: IS NIGERIA MEASURING UP?    "ATATA ANTHONY"

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world with a population of about 140million people. It is the second largest economy in Africa. Nigeria has been an independent country for forty-seven years. It has experienced unpleasant military rule and civilian administration since independence. The civil war of 1967 – 1970 took over a million lives and the consequent discovery of oil in the 70’s launched the country into stupendous wealth that led to chronic corruption.

, individuals and criminal organisations took advantage of the country’s weak laws, systemic corruption, lack of enforcement and poor economic conditions to strengthen their ability to perpetrate all manners of financial crimes at home and abroad. Nigerian criminal organisations are adept at devising new ways of subverting international and domestic law enforcement efforts and evading detection. Their success in avoiding detection and prosecution has led to an increase in many types of financial crimes including bank fraud, real estate fraud, identity theft and advance fee fraud.1 Phishing, Spyware, Spam, Malicious code launches and counterfeiting.

Nigerian criminals initially made the advance fee fraud scheme infamous. Today, nationals of many African countries and from a variety of countries around the world also perpetrate advance fee fraud. This type of fraud is referred to internationally as four-one-nine (419) a reference to the fraud section in Nigeria’s criminal code.

While there are many variations, the main goal of 419 frauds is to deceive victims into the payment of a fee by persuading them that they will receive a very large benefit in return, or by persuading them to pay fees to “rescue” or help a newly made “friend” in some sort of alleged distress. A majority of these schemes end after the victims have suffered monetary losses, but some have also involved kidnapping, and or murder. Through the Internet, businesses and individuals around the world have been, and continue to be targeted by perpetrators of 419 Scam.2

Economic and financial crimes are kindred offences with an extremely thin line separating them. All economic crimes are financial crimes but not all financial crimes are economic crimes.

Economic crimes are those that have a damaging effect on the economic and political system of the country. Their damage of the international image of the country is more important than the direct financial loss. These include corruption, embezzlement of public funds, fake currency running, smuggling, drug trafficking, tax evasion3 etc.

Section 46 of the economic and financial crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004 defines economic crimes which include the non-violent criminal and illicit activity committed with objective of earning wealth illegally, any form of fraud, money laundering, illegal oil bunkering, tax evasion, dumping of toxic wastes etc.                 continue ....next page