EFCC Reveals How Public Funds Were Moved From LG Account Into Crypto Wallets

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has revealed how funds from a local government account were transferred to a private company and subsequently moved into cryptocurrency wallets.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed the development on Monday, August 31, 2026, during a media briefing in Abuja, where he outlined the commission’s activities and reforms under his leadership.

Olukoyede said the transaction was detected by the commission’s Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department, which intervened by freezing the funds for 72 hours to establish their destination and purpose.

He said the commission could not ignore suspicious movement of public funds simply because the money had not yet been conclusively established as stolen.

“When we see money moving suspiciously, we move in and freeze it in the interim. I know some of you are calling for my head. The account was frozen for 72 hours. Okay, come and show where this money is going? Why are you moving money?” Olukoyede said.

According to the EFCC chairman, investigators traced the movement from a local government account to a company and subsequently discovered that the funds had entered cryptocurrency wallets.

“We saw money being moved from the local government account to a company. Apart from that phase, we discovered that the money has gone into cryptocurrency wallets,” he added.

Olukoyede did not identify the local government, company or state involved in the transaction.

He also clarified that the case he cited was not linked to the Osun State Government, whose account was frozen by the EFCC earlier in August, shortly before the state’s governorship election.

The EFCC boss said the incident demonstrated why the agency was changing its approach from waiting for public funds to be stolen before investigating to identifying and stopping suspicious transactions at an early stage.

“Why must we be waiting for money to be stolen? Why can’t we change the narrative?” he asked.

Olukoyede also raised concerns about the growing use of cryptocurrency in financial crimes, saying some public officials allegedly use young people as fronts to move funds through digital wallets.

He said the commission had encountered cases where funds allegedly obtained by public officials were transferred to students and other young people, who then opened cryptocurrency wallets through which the money could be moved abroad.

The EFCC chairman said such funds could subsequently be used to acquire properties and luxury goods outside Nigeria, making traditional methods of tracing illicit financial flows more difficult.

He stressed that cybercrime in Nigeria had moved beyond the traditional understanding of internet fraud commonly referred to as “Yahoo Yahoo”.

According to him, the commission has developed the capacity to trace cryptocurrency wallets, particularly those connected to virtual asset platforms operating within Nigeria’s regulatory framework.

Olukoyede said about 40 virtual asset platforms had been licensed in Nigeria and that the EFCC was working with the regulatory system to strengthen its ability to trace suspicious digital transactions.

He also disclosed that the Federal Government had approved the creation of a national confiscation wallet for virtual assets recovered by law enforcement agencies.

The measure, he explained, was introduced to address previous challenges surrounding the custody and accountability of confiscated cryptocurrency.

“Today we have a national confiscation wallet. So if I confiscate virtual assets now, it’s a national wallet that we put into those,” he said.

The development formed part of Olukoyede’s wider presentation on the EFCC’s performance during his tenure.

The commission said it recovered more than ₦1.23 trillion, alongside $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million, between October 2023 and July 2026. It also reported 10,872 convictions during the period.

Olukoyede said the EFCC’s strategy was increasingly focused on preventing financial crimes by identifying suspicious transactions early, rather than waiting until funds had been completely dissipated.

He also disclosed that more than 40 EFCC personnel had been dismissed over alleged corruption and financial malpractice within the past two and a half to three years, with some already facing prosecution.

The chairman maintained that stronger technology, financial intelligence and institutional reforms would be necessary to tackle the changing methods used to move illicit funds.

The EFCC’s latest disclosure highlights the growing role of cryptocurrency in financial crime investigations in Nigeria, particularly as authorities increase efforts to track digital assets and prevent suspected proceeds of crime from being moved beyond the reach of investigators.