Mishela, a lawyer with the commission and panelist at the training, disclosed this during his presentation on reporting economic crimes.
Mishela said one of the objectives of the training was to keep journalists informed about and help them understand how they could play a role in implementing Nigeria's new anti-money laundering Act 2022.
“As it is, I am talking about Abuja; you see so many estates coming all over Abuja and more.
“The sources of these funds are unlawful; the funds are illegally gotten either from government or from the international crime that is used to launder through estate business.
“So, EFCC is actually working to look into that dimension and the new money laundering Act has provided an opening for the government to look into the aspect of real estate as we have seen under the Act.
“Real estate is one of the designated and non-designated professions that are also under our obligation, under the establishment to do a full disclosure.
“It is an investigation that is going on; not that we have identified any specific entity to these proceeds of crime, but we are working to unravel what those areas are,” he said.
The official outlined the roles and responsibilities individuals, corporate organizations, and other entities would play under the new Act. For example: “It's now a crime to make cash payments over N5 million—or receive them.”
He said the need to make the public aware of the expanded scope of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 as against the repealed Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 necessitated the workshop.
The commission noted that though ignorance of the law is not an excuse, individuals and corporate bodies should be brought to awareness of the law.
In her presentation, Mr Dele Oyewale, the Assistant Commander, Public Affairs Unit of EFCC, Abuja, tasked journalists on investigative reporting, to provide leads for the commission.
Investigative reporting, he said, was the pride of the journalism profession, calling on the participants to indulge in journalism of penetration, exploration, intensification and exhaustive inquiries.
Mrs Oluwakemi Olawoyin, Head, Cyber Crimes Unit in EFCC, Benin, made a presentation on risks and benefits associated with digital payment systems, where she highlighted tactics for safe transactions on the various e-business platforms.
