By Micheal Eyibio
The Port Harcourt Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Aliyu Naibi, on Tuesday called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to offer support in tackling fraudulent investment managers operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
He made the call while receiving the Rivers State Branch Controller of CBN, Mrs. B.O Oruwari, who paid him a courtesy visit.
Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested some job applicants for presenting forged certificates and academic records during the on-going recruitment exercise by the Commission.
Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, Spokesperson for the Commission, said some of the false documents presented during the interview sessions include declarations of age, school certificates, and other documentation that showed evidence of tampering.
The suspects, she added have been detained and are being investigated by the Commission.
EFCC lamented the alarming cases of fraudulent investment managers across the country and the attendant loss of “funds by various investors” and sued for more support from the CBN to stem the tide of such cases.
Naibi, said: “We are investigating several cases involving fraudulent investment managers, Ponzi scheme operators and other related cases here in the Port Harcourt Zonal Command. We cannot investigate any investment fraud case without the CBN. We need to know whether such investment managers are licensed or not because they always claim that they are licensed by the CBN.”
He explained that though the CBN was always referring investigators of fraudulent investment schemes to the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, the apex bank could still be supportive in debunking claims of such dubious managers.
Responding, Oruwari said that the CBN was aware of issues related to the fraudulent investment managers and working to create more public and market awareness about their sharp practices.
She called for more collaboration between CBN and EFCC, stressing that “we are both talking finance, money, crime and other related issues. We feel we need to collaborate more.”