- Flutterwave, a payment services provider has announced a partnership with Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to build and equip a state-of-the-art Cybercrime Research Center to intensify the fight against internet crime and promote secure online transactions.
- The Cybercrime Research Center will be established at the new EFCC Academy to serve as a hub for advanced research, training, and capacity building in the fight against financial crimes.
- The announcement comes as the partnership was formalised on June 14, 2024, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja between the two parties– Secretary of the EFCC, Mohammadu Hammajoda, and Olugbenga Agboola for Flutterwave.
Present at the event include the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, the Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, the Chief Compliance Officer, Mobolaji Bammeke, the Director of the American Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Christopher Gray.
On the partnership, Agboola said Flutterwave is committed to promoting secure and safe transactions and creating a fraud-free financial ecosystem. Acknowledging the EFCC, he said, “we applaud the EFCC’s relentless efforts to combat Internet fraud and other illicit activities in the financial sector.”
Olukoyede expressed his gratitude for the partnership and noted its significant contribution to the Commission's efforts to combat financial crimes, stating that the Cybercrime Research Centre will significantly improve its capabilities to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.
While the initiative aims to develop and implement cutting-edge technologies for detecting and preventing financial fraud, the centre will also offer comprehensive training for law enforcement and industry professionals to combat financial crimes.
It promises to provide high-end training and research opportunities for 500 youths, equipping them with the skills needed in the digital economy.
Also, the centre will facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing between the public and private sectors to combat financial crimes, including cryptocurrency-related crimes, by providing access to advanced tools, technologies, and resources.
On combating crimes, the EFCC in March 2024 and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) said they have devised new strategies to address the country's exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list (increased monitoring) as the nation faced threats of being moved from the grey list to the black list by the authority.
Meanwhile, last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned the public about an alleged celebrity-endorsed meme coin with the ticker $DAVIDO, stating that individuals who engage with the cryptocurrency do so at their peril.