Money launders exploiting diaspora remittances – CBN

The acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashodun Shonubi, has hinted that many cases of trafficking in persons, goods, or services, are done through diaspora remittances.

Shonubi made this assertion while delivering a lecture titled, “Diaspora Remittances and Nigeria Economic Development” at the National Institute for Security Studies in Abuja on Thursday, and according to him, this has been a big issue for the apex bank.

The PUNCH reported that Shonubi said it would be helpful if measures could be put in place to control illegal remittances and identify these channels.

He said, “There are a lot of remittances that are not passing through those channels that people normally ascribe with remittances. We all know that issues of money laundering are always tied to the movement of funds.

“It also means that there is a lot of money laundering that goes on through remittances, because of the nature of remittances that come into Nigeria. Large value.

“There is not much you can do, so, it is a problem for us. And so, we are seeing situations where FinTechs in quotes are now in the remittance business.

“It is good because it brings prices down, but it has its own issues with control, fraud, and money laundering. They become a very big issue for us. Flows are important.’’