By 
Abiodun OBA
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa, said the agency will start holding banks liable where there are established cases of institutional complicity in fraud in the sector.
Bawa gave the warning during a meeting with the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN).
The 41-year-old who said the anti-graft agency alone cannot rid the country of corruption, urged bank auditors to take issues of transparency in banking operations seriously.
“I will like to urge you to know your customers, know the kind of businesses they do before opening an account for them because some customers will open an account within a space of two months a huge sum of money is found in the account.
“So there is need for you to try and query these information including their linked accounts,” he said.
The EFCC boss further warned that the agency will start holding banks liable where there are established cases of institutional complicity in fraud in the sector.
In a meeting with bank directors last week, he said financial institutions must help fight fraudulent election financing, foreign exchange malpractices, and money laundering.
“Any banker complicit in any such financial fraud will face the full wrath of the law.
“It is better to have fewer banks complying with the laws of the land than to have multiple banks not complying with the laws,” he said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, ACAEBIN chairman, Yinka Tiamiyu, pledged the commitment of the association to helping the EFCC sanitise the financial system.
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