He said while tremendous progress has been recorded in strengthening the anti money laundering regulation and compliance regime in Nigeria, monitoring the movement of cash outside the financial sector, remains a major challenge, considering that Nigeria is still predominantly a cash-based economy.

His solace is however in the fact that the EFCC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have in the last few years taken very bold step to check illicit movement of cash across our borders; where operatives stationed at major international airports across the country have intercepted millions of dollars in cash, which were not declared to customs by their owners.

Deputy Chief of Mission, United State Embassy, Maria Brewer said that the training programme will expose participants to new trends and techniques in combating economic and financial crimes. “Since economic and financial crimes is a global phenomenon, the training will focus among others, on taking away proceed of crime, because when you take away the money, you take away why people do crime”, she said.

Other dignitaries at the opening ceremony included, Benjamin Bryan, acting director, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement US Mission Abuja; Steve Robinson, Attaché, Department of Homeland Security Investigation, DHSI; T. A. Hundeyin, Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration, who represented the NIS boss, and Alhaji Hamisa Lawal, Commander of Narcotics, who represented the NDLEA boss.

Highpoint of the ceremony was the donation of a high-tech counting machine to the EFCC. Brewer, who made the presentation on behalf of the US government, said that it was one way, in which the President Barack Obama-led administration, planned to assist the EFCC and the country at large in fighting corruption.