Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it recovered nearly $500 million in proceeds of crime last year and secured more than 4,000 criminal convictions, the highest since its establishment over two decades ago.
As Africa’s biggest energy producer, Nigeria has struggled for decades with endemic corruption, which many citizens blame for widespread poverty.
In a report released on Monday, the EFCC stated that part of the recovered funds had been reinvested in government projects.
Nigeria is currently ranked 140 out of 180 on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index.
Beyond cash recoveries, the EFCC also seized 931,052 metric tons of petroleum products, 975 real estate properties, and company shares.
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