The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has raised fresh concerns over the movement of public funds after it detected money transferred from a local government account to a private company and later into cryptocurrency wallets.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede disclosed the development while speaking to media executives and journalists in Abuja, saying the commission had to intervene after its monitoring system flagged the transactions as suspicious.
According to Olukoyede, the EFCC’s Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department detected the movement and temporarily froze the account for 72 hours to establish where the money was going and why it was being transferred.
He said the investigation showed that the money moved from the local government account to a company before being transferred into cryptocurrency wallets.
The EFCC chairman did not disclose the name of the local government, the state involved or the private company that received the funds.
Olukoyede said the development was part of a growing pattern in which public funds are allegedly moved through private accounts and digital assets, making it more difficult to immediately identify the final destination of the money.
He explained that the commission now has the ability to trace cryptocurrency transactions and identify wallets connected to virtual asset platforms operating in Nigeria.
The EFCC boss also raised concerns about the use of young people as fronts in financial transactions, saying some individuals allegedly hide behind other people while moving funds through cryptocurrency wallets.
According to him, the commission cannot simply watch suspicious transactions take place and wait until public money is eventually lost before taking action.
The temporary freezing of the account, he explained, was intended to give investigators time to determine whether the transaction was legitimate and to prevent the funds from disappearing beyond recovery.
The revelation comes as the EFCC continues to increase its focus on the movement of money through digital platforms, particularly as cryptocurrency becomes more common in financial transactions.
The commission has also been under pressure over some of its decisions to freeze accounts suspected of being linked to suspicious transactions.
Olukoyede defended the agency’s approach, insisting that early intervention is necessary whenever financial monitoring systems detect unusual movements involving public funds.
He said the fight against corruption must increasingly include the use of technology because criminals are also using new financial systems to move money.
The latest disclosure has raised fresh questions about the security of local government funds and the level of monitoring applied to public accounts.
While the EFCC has not accused any named individual of wrongdoing in this particular case, the commission’s discovery suggests that investigators are examining the full trail of the money to determine its purpose and final destination.
The investigation is expected to establish whether the transfers were legitimate government transactions or part of an attempt to divert public funds through a private company and cryptocurrency wallets.