The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu on Monday said the anti-graft agency recovered a sum of N473,065, 195,977.50 in 2017.
Magu said this when he appeared before members of the Kayode Oladele led House of Representatives committee on financial crimes on Monday to defend the 2018 budget of the EFCC.
The acting chairman further stated that an additional sum of $98,258,124.97, £ 294,851.82, €7,247,363.75 ; 443,400.00 Dirham and 70,500.00 South African Rand were recovered during the period under review.
He explained that the amount comprised the final forfeiture of N32 billion and $ 5 million to the coffers of the government from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Alison-Diezani Madueke.
The amount includes the recovery and final forfeiture of N449 million discovered at Legico Plaza in Victoria Island, Lagos, final forfeiture of over $43 million discovered in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, recovery of over N329 billion from petroleum marketers by the commission’s Kano office.
The amount also includes withholding tax recovery of over N27.7 billion from banks, Nigerian Ports Authority recovery of over €6.6 million, recoveries of about N1.1 billion on behalf of AMCON, and recovery of subsidy fraud funds of over N4 billion.
Magu who said a key challenge facing his outfit lies in the paucity of funds to implement the capital component of monies budgeted to his outfit, told the lawmakers that a director of the Osborne Towers Ikoyi was related to the sacked Director General of the Nigeria intelligence agency ( NIA) , Mr. Ayodele Oke.
He said insufficient release of funds was responsible for the inability of his outfit to ensure completion of his new office complex.
He presented a budget proposal of N21.62 billion which represents 27 per cent increase of the N17.2 billion appropriated to his outfit in the 2017 fiscal year. Of the amount, he stated that N7.07 is for capital expenditure, N11.015 billion for personnel and the sum of N3.6 billion is for overhead expenditure.
