The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has urged the leadership of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) to introduce the Know Your Customer (KYC) principles for its clients to avoid serving as conduit for money launderers and illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) offenders.
Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, gave the advice in his goodwill message at the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference of the Association held at the Amadeo Event Centre, GRA, Enugu.
TheFact Daily reports that Owasanoye, who was represented by the Commission’s Director of Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management, Mr. Adedayo Kayode, explained that the KYC is a veritable tool for the Association to self-regulate its members as part of measures to prevent being used for money laundering and IFFs.
“It is my position that self-regulation is a way out of this quagmire for the Association. REDAN should consciously draw up programmers to build capacity of its members on modern trends in construction and also hold its members to the highest level of ethical standards.
“The Association should introduce and enforce high ethical standards for its members especially to ensure their processes are not used for money laundering. In this regard, the Association may introduce KYC principles”, he said.
Owasanoye noted that the theme of the AGM, “Enhancing the Real Estate Sector through Effective Regulation and Collaborations” was in line with the Commission’s mandate of partnership and collaboration with relevant institutions towards building a mass mobilization vanguard in the curbing of corruption and IFFs within the system and out of the country.
He disclosed that the Commission was currently investigating cases of fully completed but unoccupied Estates in Abuja in order to identify estates and estate developers serving as conduits for money laundering and IFFs.
He added that the Commission intends to cover other major housing hubs in the country especially Lagos and Port-Harcourt.
