The Ilorin Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Michael Nzekwe, on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 charged the Point of Sale (POS) operators to carry out proper documentation of their clients before transactions are made as means of checking money laundering and other illicit financial transactions.
Nzekwe gave the charge while playing host to members of the Kwara Association of Professional Point of Sale Agents, KAPPSA, led by its chairman, Opakunle Ridwan Ayinde at the Commission’s Office, GRA, Ilorin.
He stated that, the number of reported cases regarding fraudsters using the POS medium to launder money and to swindle unsuspecting individuals of their monies was appalling adding that POS operators as stakeholders in the fight against money laundering must ensure they carry out due diligence and adhere strictly to the regulations provided by law.
While admonishing the POS operators to filter and flush out the bad eggs among them, the Zonal Commander stressed the need for the association to sensitize its members on the laws guiding their activities as ‘‘ignorance is not acceptable in law.’’
“There is need for you to obey the ‘Know Your Customer’ otherwise called KYC policy in every financial transaction you make as enshrined in Section 3 of the Money Laundering (Prohibited) Act 2011 (as amended)”, he said.
He went further by urging members of the association to create a database where details of customers including their names, valid means of identification, address, phone numbers would always be kept as “this is the only way you can absorb yourself of being complicit in criminal activities perpetuated by fraudsters through your medium’.
The Zonal Commander thanked the KAPPSA for the visit, urging them to join hands with the EFCC in the fight against corruption, while promising to support the association to make his men available for training of members to assist their business.
The Chairman of KAPPSA, Opakunle Ridwan Ayinde lauded the Ilorin Command of the Commission for its efforts to sensitize the association through continuous engagements and trainings, which he said, would greatly sanitise the business.
He informed the Zonal Commander that as part of efforts to sanitise the POS operators in Kwara State, the association had created a unit called “Crime Unit” and a Task Force to work with EFCC and other agencies to ensure compliance of members with extant regulations.
