The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has established a task force to tackle the menace of illegal forex trading and abuse of the naira.
The move, according to the EFCC, is part of the commission’s effort towards combating illegal forex trading following the continued depreciation of the naira against the UD dollar.
According to data from the financial market infrastructure group warehousing, also known as FMDQ, the naira depreciated to N1,538 per US dollar on Friday.
The naira had traded at N1,498 to the dollar on Thursday.
Recall that the EFCC had arrested several suspects in the past in connection with illegal forex trading and abuse of the naira notes in public functions.
In December 2022, operatives of the commission arrested 87 forex dealers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and Kano.
Findings revealed that the EFCC detectives ransacked the forex dealers’ vaults for stashed dollars and naira.
Early this month, the EFCC secured the conviction and sentencing of a Nigerian actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, to six months imprisonment for spraying and stepping on Naira notes.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aneke sentenced her for the offence with an option of N300,000 fine to be paid into the consolidated revenue account of the federation.
Reiterating its effort to combat the crimes, the EFCC in a notice posted on its Facebook page on Saturday, enjoined the public to report people engaging in illegal forex trading and naira mutilation.
