Sam Akpe, Abuja

The Federal Government will mount a special surveillance next year in a bid to check money laundering in financial and some non-financial institutions in the country.

Specifically, the surveillance will focus on financial transactions – including deposits, withdrawals and transfers – involving huge sums and operated infrequently.

Any financial institution or designated non-financial institution involved in such transactions will be expected to seek information from the customer as to the origin and destination of the funds and identity of the beneficiary.

These are some of the highlights in the new Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2003 proposed by President Olusegun Obasanjo to the National Assembly for passage into law.

The bill also empowers the Economic and Financial Crime Commission to place any bank account or any other account comparable to a bank account under surveillance.

If passed by the National Assembly, the bill will also empower the EFCC to tap any telephone line or place it under surveillance and obtain access to any computer used in such transactions.

Such surveillance, according to the bill, would be made pursuant to an order of the Federal High Court obtained upon an exparte application supported by a sworn declaration made by the commission’s chairman or an authorised officer.

The declaration must justify the request in terms of locating properties, proceeds, objects or other things related to the commission of an offence either under the bill or the EFCC Act.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency will also be authorised to exercise the powers conferred on the EFCC, “where it relates to identifying or locating properties, objects or proceeds of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.”

The bill states that banking secrecy or the traditional customer confidentiality shall not be invoked as a ground for objecting to the measures set out in the law.

The bill, which has already been passed by the Senate, repeals the previous Money Laundering Prohibition Act earlier hurriedly passed in 2002 in a bid to meet the international deadlines.

Any financial institution handling such suspicious transaction, according to the bill is to within seven days of the transaction send a detailed report containing all the information regarding the transaction to the EFCC.

Where such direct report is made, the institutions involved are also expected to “take appropriate steps to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of a crime or an illegal act.”

Depending on the seriousness of the transaction, the EFCC is expected to, on receipt of the report referred to it, take immediate action regarding the illicit transaction.

Such action may include deferring the transaction for a period not exceeding 72 hours through liaison with the financial or designated non-financial institution.

Clause 6 Subsection 7 of the bill indicates that where the origin of the funds could not be traced within the given time, a court order might be issued to block the said transaction.

Another curious aspect of the Section 7, states that every financial institution shall keep the records of a customer’s identification for at least five years after the closure of account or severance of relation with the customer.

This implies that a money launderer could still be arrested and prosecuted more than five years after he had stopped business with a particular financial institution.

Such records shall only be communicated to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the EFCC, the NDLEA or other regulatory authorities as the CBN may refer.

Clause 10 of the new law also mandates every financial institution or designated non-financial institutions to fully disclose to the EFCC in writing, any transaction of funds by an individual that exceeds one million naira

In addition, they are to make such a report in writing within seven days if any company in a single transaction, lodged or transferred funds that exceeds five million naira.