.....Nigeria should enact an unexplained wealth legislation
"Unexplained wealth laws, also known as unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), are civil investigative tools that allow authorities to seize and dispose of property that may have been obtained unlawfully. They are used in the UK and other jurisdictions, including Gibraltar, to help combat money laundering and serious crime."
Last year, as a pro bono project, myself and a team of lawyers drafted a Bill and a Presidential Executive Order on the subject matter of Unexplained Wealth.
The Bill was submitted to the National Assembly sponsored by a Member of the House of Representatives.
The Presidential Executive Order was submitted to a certain Senator for onward transmission to the Presidency.
Till today, nothing concrete or tangible has come out of these efforts.
Whenever I travel to any foreign country, I come face-to-face with the negative consequences of Nigeria's reputation as a leading destination of money-laundering.
All my Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards are not functioning. There are limitations and restrictions on operations of my USA dollars and Great British Pounds (GBP) Sterling denominated bank accounts.
When one wants to try alternatives such Western Union and MoneyGram, the operators inform me that there are restrictions when it comes to Nigeria and Nigerians using these facilities.
This is because of the previous history of Nigerian internet fraudsters (popularly known as "yahoo boys") using both Western Union, and MoneyGram as couriers of their I'll gotten wealth.
Now I hear, they are using cryptocurrency and gift cards.
This makes it very difficult for the other Nigerians who are involved in legitimate activities in foreign countries. We have to rely on the benevolence of the few Nigerians who own foreign currency bank accounts in these foreign countries and who are looking to get naira from us to send money back home to their relatives.
It is hoped that the enactment of the Unexplained Wealth Legislation would ease this and improve the perception and ranking of Nigeria in the global ranking of anti-money laundering parameters.
It is alleged that, after enactment, the implementation of the unexplained wealth legislation should commence with the Nigerian Police. The reason is because it is alleged that majority of the unexplained wealth in Nigeria is investigated because the holders of such funds find disingenuous ways of obtaining illegal protection from some officials of the Nigerian Police.
