MONEY LAUNDERING DISTORTS ECONOMY - ATIKU

LAGOS -- Vice President Atiku Abubakar declared yesterday that money
laundering is a serious economic crime that distorts economic and fiscal
indices, as well as has linkages with narcotics trafficking and organised
crimes.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of the federation, Chief Akinlolu Olujimi, at a two-day seminar
organised by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Golden &
Partners (Investment Solicitors) in Lagos yesterday, Abubakar lamented that
money laundering has dented Nigeria's image.

"For us in Nigeria, money laundering is particularly heinous because it has
contributed to giving us a less than impeccable image. The task of
cleansing this image, which we began since assuming office in 1999,
involves tackling the monster of narcotics trafficking and its attendant
tentacles of advance fee fraud, money laundering, people trafficking and so
on", the vice-president stressed.

He said the laws have been revised to deal with the menace and commended
the NDLEA for organising the seminar to disseminate more knowledge on the
adverse effects of the crime.

He charged all stakeholders to do more to curb the money laundering malaise
to complement the effort put into combating the drug menace, which have
yielded some results in Nigeria a more favourable image.

Also speaking, Chairman/chief executive of NDLEA, Alhaji Bello Lafiaji
traced the history of the menace of drugs and related financial problems
when Nigerian second world war veterans returned home with Indian hemp
seedlings.

Lafiaji noted that the problem grew over the years, but that the strong
political will of the present government had helped to reduce the malaise
substantially in recent times. He said to avoid a repeat of the lapses that
led to Nigeria's stigmatisation a few years ago, a concerted effort by all
stakeholders was imperative, hence the seminar.

He implored other stakeholders to emulate Golden Partners Chamber in
joining hands with the Agency to combat the twin evils of drug trafficking
and money laundering in Nigeria.