A bill making it mandatory for Banks and other financial institutions to report any single transaction from five million and above to the Economic and Financial crimes Commission, have been passed by the Nigerian Senate.
Daily Trust reports that Section 11(3) of the bill provides that “any financial institution or designated non-financial business and profession that contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N250,000 and not more than N1m for each day the contravention continues.
Section 12 of the bill prohibits the opening of numbered or anonymous accounts in fictitious names and shell banks.
The bill provides that any person or financial institution that contravenes the provisions of Section 12 subsections (1), (2) and (3) commits and offence and is liable to imprisonment of not less than 2 years and not more than 5 years in the case of an individual; and a fine of not less than N10m but not more than N50m for a financial institution, in addition to the prosecution of the principal officers of the body, and winding up and prohibition of its constitution or incorporation.
