$500m lost to internet fraud in 2022 – EFCC chairman

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has decried the negative impact of internet crimes popularly known as “yahoo yahoo’’ on the country.

Olukoyede disclosed that several international companies had to shut down their Nigerian operations following massive theft of their finances through local wire fraud.

He noted that in 2022, over $500m was lost as a result of the activities of Internet fraudsters.

A statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the EFCC chairman spoke at the Global Peace Movement International awards on Thursday, where he was named the Man of the Year.

He said, “In 2022, we lost over $500 million in our economy to yahoo boys. The statistics are there. In the same year, about 71 international companies left Nigeria because they hacked their accounts.

“We can’t get credit cards in Nigeria because of our poor credit rating because of the activities of these cyber criminals. So, the best we can get is debit cards.

“Do you know that there are some international merchants that you cannot use Nigerian cards on their platforms? Display your green passport outside the country and see if they will not take you aside and search you thoroughly.”

He stated that no shade of economic and financial crime would go unaddressed under his leadership of the EFCC.

Olukoyede added that people stealing money in high places started from local governments and school associations.

He said, “We will do the mini; we will do the mega. If you don’t do the mini, the mini will become the mega. Some of these people stealing money in high places started from the local governments, they started as leaders of associations in schools, where they stole money and they did nothing to them and it became part of their lives.”

Olukoyede promised not to disappoint Nigerians and not to spare the corrupt.