Lagos, Nov. 9, 2023 – Dr Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), says the commission is taking proactive steps to reduce incidence of financial crimes in the country.
He said this at the 11th Anniversary Lecture Series of RealNews Magazine in Lagos on Tuesday.
Maida said one of these steps was NCC’s efforts to close the digital gap by undertaking inexpensive projects and providing accessible ICT services to underprivileged communities.
He said digital inclusion was critical to ensuring that all citizens had the tools they needed to conduct financial transactions safely.
Maida, who was represented by Reuben Mouka, the Director of Public Affairs in NCC, said NCC was also actively collaborating with other regulatory authorities to share best practices to guarantee coordinated efforts to protect Nigeria’s financial sector.
He also said the Commission was investing hugely in both research and development as well as in training its manpower on emerging innovations in the tech space.
Maida said the NCC was also cultivating beneficial relationships with technology companies and regulatory authorities to develop a united approach to addressing financial crimes.
Nigeria’s telecoms sector had grown significantly resulting in massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis.
Maida said the scope of financial crimes, had in turn, broadened with the increasing adoption of digital technologies.
He described financial crimes as criminal activities that involved transactions, abuse, misuse, deception, or manipulation of financial systems for personal gains.
“They include a wide range of offenses such as Insider abuse, Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, Proliferation Financing, embezzlement, Fraud (E-fraud, Banking, securities, corporate, Intellectual Property) etc.
“These crimes do not only have a huge economic and social impact but can also be linked to violent crimes that lead to loss of lives.
“These crimes threaten the integrity, trustworthiness, stability, security, safety, and future of an entity (country, enterprise, individual).
“With the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the emergence of new technologies, and the often-transnational nature of these crimes, the scope of financial crimes has broadened and created further concerns.”
Maida said robust ICT systems were, therefore, needed to preventing or investigating financial crimes or mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in financial markets.
“These systems facilitate compliance with established standards or regulations, they also provide a platform that allows the monitoring, tracing, and analyzing of digital transactions in real-time. ICT systems support secure data storage and encryption technologies, which are critical for safeguarding sensitive financial data.
‘Technological advancements have significantly aided crime prevention and law enforcement agency performance. Large datasets have been analyzed using advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms to look for trends that indicate criminal activity.
The NCC boss said financial crimes often occur across territorial borders with criminals taking advantage of loopholes in rules and enforcement systems across jurisdictions
He said combatting financial crimes, therefor, required collaborative efforts by countries or states to track down and capture culprits.
Maida called for collaboration and international cooperation to effectively tackle financial crimes. (GBN)
