E-Financial
Foreign Banks aid $18Bn Corruption in Nigeria Annually- TI
Transparency International (TI) has alleged that international enablers headquartered in Beijing, Dubai, London and New York are parts of every single illicit transaction perpetrated in Nigeria, costing the country $18 billion per annum in tax evasion.
TI, also, observed that Nigeria had witnessed significant recovery of stolen assets from different countries worldwide, though lamented that absence of a harmonised stolen asset recovery regime had led to the re-looting of the recovered assets.
Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani, head of Nigeria Office, TI, made this allegation during a virtual special session of the United Nations General Assembly against corruption, which ended on Friday.
At the session, Rafsanjani lamented that corruption in Africa, especially Nigeria, “is aided by legitimate enablers that are only seldom held accountable and punished.”
He noted that Nigeria yearly “loses around $18 billion, most of it on tax evasion. International enablers headquartered in London, New York, Dubai and Beijing are part of every single illicit or corrupt transaction of significant proportion.
“The current situation is very bad. Putting things into perspective, Nigeria loses about $15bn to $18bn annually to illicit financial outflows like money laundering and the likes.
“Financial institutions, lawyers and other notaries help to facilitate Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Money Laundering (ML). International jurisdictions that have become tax havens and allowed shell and shelf companies exist are also vehicles and destinations for moving these illicit funds out of developing countries.
“We also have cases of big companies finding loopholes in tax laws to prevent themselves from paying their fair share of taxes,” TI’s country representative alleged.
He said Nigeria had witnessed in recent years significant recoveries of stolen assets from abroad, noting that stolen assets recovered from the late tyrant, Gen. Sani Abacha was almost $2billion from the UK, New Jersey and Switzerland.
Despite what had been recovered from the late tyrant, Rafsanjani alleged that Abacha might have stolen “close to $6 billion. He inflicted incalculable social damage on the entire Nigerian population. Nigeria has experimented with a number of modalities on the management of international asset return.”
TI’s country representative, equally, lamented that some early recoveries were re-looted due to the lack of domestic management recovery framework and also due to incompetence of the international oversight.
“More recent recoveries reflect the growing realisation that civil society needs to be part of the monitoring of the management of the disbursement of recovered assets and they should be part of the entire asset recovery process from pre-investigation to the stage of disbursement of the recovered assets.”
Rafsanjani lamented that the victims of corruption “are not part of any stage of asset recovery in Nigeria. International asset recoveries follow bilateral agreement, which oversee and neglect the issue of identification of victims.”
In some cases, he explained that some attempts “have been made to prefer SDG financing or pro-poor allocation of compensation. However, no real standard is in place.”
Instead, according to Rafsanjani, countries of origin prefer ‘tangible mementos’ such as infrastructure projects, etc. that have nothing to do with the compensation of the real victims of corruption in the majority of asset returns;
In principle, he said there was a growing recognition in the Nigerian criminal law that there was a need to go beyond the notion of punitive justice, towards a solution that was more inclusive and encouraged the participation of victims and recognised the need to provide effective remedies for victims of crimes.
In practice, however, he explained that the courts were operating under the myth that corruption “is a victimless crime, partly because of the narrowed conception of corruption and the perceived legal challenges such as causation, legal standing, and evidence-gathering, victims of corruption are not identified.”
According to him, those who are economically and socially disadvantaged are the biggest victims of corruption, but have no access to the representation about their economic and social damages.
He said: “But it may be difficult to quantify the cost of corruption in most cases. This does not make the harms less real and deadly for Nigerians.”
He, therefore, challenged the UK, Dubai and other Island nations “to ensure that their financial institutions conduct proper Know Your Customer (KYC) measures or Enhance Due Diligence (EDD) as required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other global standards to combat money laundering.
“Having a beneficial ownership register that is accessible to the public is also very important in combating money laundering and illicit financial flows. The countries should ensure that companies who conduct businesses in developing countries pay their fair share of taxes in the countries where those profits are made.”
E-Financial
First Securities Brokers Empowers Nigerians to Trade in the Stock Market with the Launch of FirstInvest App
First Securities Brokers, one of Nigeria’s leading stockbroking firms and a subsidiary of FirstHoldCo Plc, is pleased to announce the official launch of the FirstInvest App, an innovative mobile investment platform designed to make stock market investing simpler, faster, and more accessible for Nigerians.
The FirstInvest App offers investors a seamless digital experience, enabling them to open and manage their investment accounts, monitor their portfolios, and trade equities listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) directly from their mobile devices.
Designed with both new and experienced investors in mind, the platform combines convenience, security, and ease of use to help users make informed investment decisions anytime and anywhere.
As Nigeria continues to embrace digital financial services, the FirstInvest App reinforces First Securities Brokers’ commitment to driving financial inclusion and expanding access to wealth creation opportunities through technology.
Speaking on the launch, Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, Managing Director of First Securities Brokers, said: “The launch of the FirstInvest App represents another significant milestone in our digital transformation journey and our commitment to delivering innovative investment solutions to our clients.
“We understand that today’s investors value convenience, speed, and accessibility. FirstInvest has been developed to provide exactly that: a secure and intuitive platform that empowers individuals to participate confidently in the capital market from wherever they are.”
She added: “Our goal is to remove the traditional barriers associated with investing by placing the power of timely investment and decision making in the stock market directly in the hands of Nigerians. Whether you are taking your first investment step, actively managing your portfolio or just evaluating your investment, FirstInvest provides the tools and flexibility needed to support your financial aspirations.”
The app delivers a range of features designed to enhance your investing experience, including: Secure digital account opening and onboarding, Real-time access to investment portfolios, Buy and sell Nigerian equities with ease, User-friendly trading interface, Secure transaction processing, Convenient access to market information and investment opportunities.
The launch of FirstInvest aligns with First Securities Brokers’ broader strategy of leveraging technology to improve customer experience while supporting the growth of retail participation in Nigeria’s capital market.
First Securities Brokers remains committed to providing trusted investment advisory services, innovative financial solutions, and exceptional customer service, helping clients build and preserve wealth across generations. The FirstInvest App is now available for download on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
The next currency crisis could accelerate the shift of the roughly $315 billion global stablecoin market into a digital-dollar alternative for citizens in emerging economies, notably in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
As local fiat currencies face devaluation and high inflation, citizens and businesses are increasingly utilizing smartphone-based stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC) as hedges and primary mediums of exchange.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rapid adoption of dollar-linked digital assets—particularly in countries heavily affected by inflation like Nigeria—poses significant risks to monetary sovereignty.
With up to 95% of surveyed individuals in some African markets preferring to receive payments in stablecoins over local fiat, the rising volume of these decentralized, cross-border channels weakens domestic currency demand and dilutes the effectiveness of local monetary policy.
IMF observed in a report titled “Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel” noted that the widespread use of stablecoins poses risks to monetary sovereignty, particularly as more individuals and businesses turn to digital dollar-linked assets for savings and transactions.
Nodding in agreement is Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute), a non-profit organisation run by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund.
FII Institute said that central banks face structural challenges.
And according to the institute, when citizens move savings out of national banks and into private digital wallets, conventional capital controls lose their grip.
Institutions like the Bank for International Settlements warn that interest-bearing stablecoins compete directly with domestic-currency deposits, complicating financial oversight and making smartphone-based transfers incredibly difficult for authorities to monitor.
In Nigeria, Naira depreciation has pushed users toward dollar-stablecoins, according to report by Gino Matos in cryptoslate.com.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value by pegging its price to a reserve asset, such as a fiat currency (e.g., the U.S. dollar) or a commodity (e.g., gold).
They act as a bridge between traditional money and the digital asset world, providing the speed of crypto without the extreme price swings of assets like Bitcoin.
Federal government has reopened three federal government of Nigeria (FGN) bond issues valued at N1.2 trillion for subscription as part of efforts to raise long-term funds from the domestic debt market.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), which announced the offer on Tuesday, said the three reopened bond issues are each valued at N400 billion.
According to the DMO, the first offer is the January 2035 FGN Bond, a 10-year reopening, carrying an interest rate of 22.60 per cent per annum.
The second is the May 2028 FGN Bond, a 15-year reopening, with a coupon rate of 15.45 per cent per annum, while the third is the June 2037 FGN Bond, a 20-year reopening, also valued at N400 billion.
The office said the bond auction is scheduled for July 20, while successful subscriptions will be settled on July 22.
It explained that the bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N50 million and additional investments in multiples of N1,000.
For the reopened bonds, the DMO said successful bidders would pay a price based on the yield-to-maturity that clears the auction, in addition to any accrued interest on the instruments.
Interest on the bonds will be paid every six months, while the principal will be repaid in full on the respective maturity dates.
The DMO reaffirmed that FGN bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government and constitute obligations chargeable on the general assets of the federation.
It added that the bonds qualify as trustee investment securities under the Trustee Investment Act and enjoy tax exemptions for eligible investors, including pension funds, under the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act.
The bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Securities Exchange and also qualify as liquid assets for banks in computing their liquidity ratios.
FGN bonds are long-term debt instruments through which investors lend money to the Federal Government in exchange for periodic interest payments and repayment of the principal at maturity.
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