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In confirmation of BusinessDay story of Monday, 5th March, 2018, the House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted the report of the joint Senate and House Conference Committee which seeks to establish Nigeria Intelligence Financial Unit (NFIU), which shall be domiciled in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The report was adopted by the Lower Chamber after the consideration at the Committee of the Whole.
According to the ‘Explanatory Memorandum’, the bill empowers NFIU as the central body in Nigeria, shall be responsible for “requesting, receiving, analysing and disseminating financial and other information to all law enforcement and security agencies and other relevant authorities.”
The principal objectives of NFIU include: institutionalise best practices in financial intelligence management in Nigeria; strengthen the existing system for combating money laundering and associated predicate offences, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and make provision for the Agency to exchange information with Financial Intelligence Institutions or similar bodies in other countries in matters relating to money laundering, terrorist financing activities and other predicate offences. And to make the Agency an autonomous body.
The bill also provides for “independent and operationally autonomous in the discharge of its duties and functions,” as well as domiciliation of NFIU in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bill further empowers NFIU to: “enter into Memoranda of Understanding or such other arrangements as will enable it to carry out its functions effectively in Nigeria and with financial intelligence Units and other competent authorities in other countries; collaborate with other regulatory authorities, law enforcement and security agencies, and self-regulatory bodies in Nigeria and other countries in combating money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and associated predicate offences and review anti-money laundering, counter terrorism financing, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction counter- measures and associated predicate offences on a regular basis in consultation with regulatory authorities and competent authorities.”
The Unit is also empowered to “disseminate, spontaneously and upon request, information and results of its analysis to relevant competent authorities and with Financial Intelligence Units in other countries with or without a Memorandum of Understanding;/receive, collect and analyse reports concerning transactions of the type mentioned in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, the terrorism prevention Act and any other relevant laws; demand statistics of cases, convictions and feedback on intelligence provided to law enforcement, security, anti-corruption agencies, regulatory authorities and other competent authorities; request for and collect any such other information as the Unit deems necessary in order to fulfil its functions under this Bill; and do such other things as are necessary or expedient for the effective and efficient performance of its functions under this Bill or any other relevant laws, rules and regulations.
“The Unit shall have powers to access or request for additional information from relevant reporting institutions and regulatory authorities, law enforcement and security agencies, and anti-corruption agencies required to perform its functions.
“The Unit shall initiate, develop or improve on specific training programmes for its officers, reporting institutions, relevant supervisory authorities, law enforcement and security agencies, and other bodies charged with the responsibility for the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of offences under any relevant law or regulations.
“The Unit shall, in developing the training programmes referred to in subsection (3) of this section consult with the relevant regulatory authorities, law enforcement and security agencies.
“The Unit shall develop policies and guidelines on the security of information and procedure for the maintenance of confidentiality of information provided by competent authorities, deriving from foreign jurisdictions or reporting institutions or obtained in any way by the Unit.
“The Unit shall by regulations provide sanctions against officers who breach it security and confidentiality policies.”
It also provides that the NFIU Director from the Directorate Cadre in the Public Service of the Federation, shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Attorney-General of the Federation for a term of five years in the first instance and shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of five years and no more.
The NFIU Director may, in line with operational procedures of financial intelligence Units, issue a directive placing an account under surveillance if satisfied that the account relates to a financial intelligence inquiry that is being conducted by the Unit.
All accounts stipulated in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and Terrorism (Prevention) Act can be subjected to an inquiry in relation to money laundering, associated predicate offences, financing of terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction being conducted on behalf of a foreign financial intelligence Unit; or there are reasonable grounds to believe that the owner of the account or any other person connected to the account is suspected to have –committed a money laundering offence within the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act; committed a terrorism financing offence under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act; property constituting or derived from unlawful activity; property constituting the instrumentalities of unlawful activity; derived a benefit from unlawful activity; or there are reasonable grounds for believing that material which may be provided in compliance with the directive is likely to be of substantial value, whether or not by itself, to the financial intelligence inquiry for the purposes of which the directive is sought.
The bill however provides for punitive sanction for anyone who “makes a disclosure which is likely to be detrimental to an investigation or a financial intelligence inquiry under this Bill; or falsifies, conceals, destroys or disposes of, or causes or permits the falsification, concealment, destruction or disposal of documents which are relevant to an inquiry by the Unit or a financial intelligence inquiry under this Bill, commits an offence and is liable on conviction – in the case of an individual to a fine of not less than N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of not less than two years or to both; and in the case of a financial institution or other body corporate, to a fine of not less than N50 million.
“An officer of the Unit who discloses or causes to be disclosed any information which may have come to his possession during the course of his duties in the Unit or is detrimental to an inquiry or a financial intelligence inquiry under this Bill commits an offence.
“An officer of the Unit who is in breach of subsection (2) shall be investigated and if indicted prosecuted for criminal disclosure and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years without option of fine and dismissal from office.
It also provides that “An officer may exercise powers under this section only in connection with the exercise by the Unit of its functions under this Bill.
“A person who wilfully obstructs the Unit or any authorised officer in the exercise of the functions or powers conferred by this Bill or any other law, commits an offence and is liable on conviction –in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years or to a fine to be set out in the regulations for every day the obstruction persists; and in the case of an entity, to a fine to be set out in the regulations for every day that the obstruction persists.
“Any other regulatory authority may on the recommendation of the Unit withdraw the licence of any person or entity who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
