Bemoaning Growing Scope Of Financial Crimes

The executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has bemoaned the growing scope of financial crimes, which he defined as criminal activities involving transactions, abuse, misuse, deception, or manipulation of financial systems for personal gain.

Maida claimed that these crimes not only have a significant negative impact on the economy and society, but they are also connected to violent crimes that result in fatalities. He also revealed that these crimes pose a threat to an entity’s integrity, reliability, stability, security, safety, and future.

While technology has aided these crimes, the EVC posited that robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems are critical for preventing/investigating financial crimes or mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in financial markets.

“Technological advancements have significantly aided crime prevention and law enforcement agency performance. Large datasets have been analyzed using advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms to look for trends that indicate criminal activity. Based on historical data and real-time intelligence, predictive police programmes have arisen to foresee and prevent crimes. Digital forensics techniques have also proven useful in criminal investigations.

“These systems facilitate compliance with established standards or regulations, they also provide a platform that allows the monitoring, tracing, and analyzing of digital transactions in real-time. ICT systems support secure data storage and encryption technologies, which are critical for safeguarding sensitive financial data,” he explained.

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For instance, Maida said Anti-Money Laundering (AML) software uses algorithms to detect anomalous patterns in financial transactions that could suggest money laundering or other illegal activity, adding that, “Law enforcement agencies are increasingly employing communication monitoring softwares to follow and analyze digital communications, such as emails, social media interactions, and instant messaging, in order to discover potential threats or illegal behaviour. These technologies improve the ability to detect and prevent illegal digital activity.”

Highlighting the role of ICT in curbing financial crimes the EVC, at the 11th Anniversary Lecture Series of RealNews Magazine, in Lagos,  on Tuesday, said Nigeria’s telecoms sector has grown significantly, resulting in massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis. “The advent of advanced data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides a gateway to identify suspicious digital patterns indicative of crime. Through partnerships with financial institutions data can be filtered to identify these suspicious patterns and nip them in the bud. These technologies provide real-time transaction monitoring, allowing for a proactive approach to crime prevention,” he affirmed.

As technology advances, new avenues for illegal conduct emerges, Maida who was represented at the event by the director, public affairs of NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said, adding that it is critical to strike a balance between using ICT to prevent crime and protecting data privacy.

In order to effectively combat financial crime, cooperation on a global scale is also necessary, Financial crimes usually transcend national borders, thus it takes cooperation between States to find and apprehend offenders.

“Continued investment in ICT solutions, as well as a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder strategy, combining technology specialists, legal professionals, and legislators, are critical in keeping up with emerging criminal methods. Public education and understanding of internet safety are also important in limiting the risks linked with the spread of criminality via technology,” he advocated.