Apr 5, 2011

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/04/money-laundering-efcc-to-probe-hotels/#

ABUJA-THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, would start probing into the activities of 3,000 hotels nationwide over their alleged roles in money laundering activities, as they allegedly aid and abet the siphoning of money out of Nigeria.

Sequel to this, the EFCC  in a statement yesterday, issued a two-week ultimatum to all hotel operators whose activities were not regulated by relevant regulatory bodies, such as the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC, to register with such organisations.

The warning, according to the statement by the EFCC, followed findings by the anti-graft agency that many of the hotels that had failed to provide information about their operations were being used as havens for criminality, especially money laundering and cyber crime.

“Investigations by the commission revealed that over 3,000 hotels across the country are either not registered or regulated by NTDC, or are without signboards, thus making enquiries from relevant regulatory bodies in the course of investigation a near impossibility,” the EFCC said.