Operatives from the Kano Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have apprehended a banker, Kamaluddeen Lawal, along with three businessmen on charges of recycling and manipulating Naira notes.
The other suspects have been identified as Ismail Ibrahim Ilu, Lamido Bala, and Abba Mohammed. They were arrested at Unity Road in the Kantin Kwari market, Kano, following credible intelligence about individuals suspected of trafficking substantial sums of cash.
Investigations revealed that the suspects specialised in acquiring mutilated Naira notes from various banks. Their scheme involved removing a few notes from each bundle and depositing the altered bundles into their bank accounts. Their banker accomplice would then process these deposits as if they contained the original amounts.
The fraudulent operation was carried out by the suspects requesting a specific denomination (in this case, N200 notes) from their respective banks. They would carefully extract a few notes from each bundle and then hand the altered bundles to their accomplice, who would process the deposits without verifying the actual amount. The banker was compensated with a share of the illicit gains.
At the time of the arrest, the EFCC recovered a total of N7,500,000 (seven million, five hundred thousand Naira) from the suspects.
The individuals involved will be charged in court upon the completion of the investigation.
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