EFCC discovers N250m cash at Balogun market in Lagos via Whistleblower

EFCC has announced that they have recovered the sum of N250million at a bureau de change located inside the popular Balogun market.

The anti-graft agency on Monday recovered €547,730 and £21,090, as well as N5,648,500 from the BDC operator, a conversion of the recovered sums, is expected to yield N250 million.

The EFCC said on its official Facebook page that the recovery followed information that about N250m cash was being moved somewhere in the market for conversion into foreign currency.

It said following a tip-off from a whistle-blower, some EFCC operatives were mobilized to the scene and met the money in the BDC office where a significant part had already had been converted into euros and pounds.

A portion of the statement read:

“The BDC Operators Found In Possession Of The Monies Claimed They Were Acting On Behalf Of Their Boss Who Sent The Money To Them From One Of The Northern States In Nigeria.

“The Converted Monies Were €547,730 And £21,090 As Well As N5,648,500 Which Was To Be Converted, But For The Intervention Of The EFCC Operatives.

“Two Persons Were Apprehended And They Are Helping The Commission In Its Investigation.”

Meanwhile, Punch reports that sources within the EFCC have said that no one has claimed ownership of the N489m seized last week even as investigations continue.

The anti-graft agency has made cash recoveries at different places in recent months, often acting on tips supplied by whistleblowers seeking to take advantage of the federal government’s whistleblowers policy that guarantees reward for helpful information.