The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it is not eager to make arrests of suspected cash hoarders, despite the scarcity of the new N200, N500, and N1,000 across the country.
“I think public servants out there or some businessmen with questionable character still have these funds out there,” the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, said during a live appearance on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict on Wednesday.
He however stressed that the law allows anyone with old notes in their possession to deposit them with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at any time in the future.
“Throughout this exercise, from October 2022 to date, we have not arrested anybody. We have not raised any questions regarding who deposited what, where, and how because we’re determined not to cause too much panic within the system.
“One of the cardinal objectives of the policy is to ensure that monies are returned to the banking system, and that is why we are holding on; we’re not eager to start that. Facts cannot change for things that are already within the financial institutions,” he said.
