Improved investment in ICT solutions detailing multi-pronged, multi-disciplinary multi-stakeholder strategy that robustly combines technology specialists, legal professionals and legislators is critical in curbing financial crimes and mitigating other emerging infractions in the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida disclosed this recently in Lagos while stressing the critical role which ICT plays in combating financial crimes and other obnoxious tendencies in Nigeria and the world.
According to him, conscious and efforts must continue to be made by governments in the country and other jurisdictions to invest heavily in ICT solutions with emphasis on multi-pronged, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder strategy which combines the knowledge of technology specialists, legal professionals and legislators all of which he said were critical to meeting emerging criminal tendencies.
Dr. Maida made the observation in a keynote address he delivered on Tuesday at the annual Realnews Magazines Lecture in Lagos. He stressed that ICT played a critical role in combating financial crimes by enabling real-time surveillance, regulatory compliance, and secure data processing.
“It provides advanced analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to law enforcement organizations for better crime detection. Furthermore, hard technologies such as CCTV cameras and security systems supplement physical security measures.”
He said that as technology had continued to advance, new avenues for illegal conduct had also emerged, pointing out that cybercrime, deepfakes, and the exploitation of IoT devices had posed huge concern to stakeholders especially regulatory bodies.
“It is critical to strike a balance between using ICT to prevent crime and protecting data privacy. Collaboration and international cooperation are required to effectively tackle financial crime.
“Financial crimes frequently cross borders, necessitating a collaborative effort by States to track down and capture culprits.
“Conferences/lectures such as the Realnews Magazines Lecture Series allow worldwide stakeholders to share knowledge and best practices.
“Public education and understanding of internet safety are also important in limiting the risks linked with the spread of criminality via technology”, he stressed.
He said that financial crimes were criminal activities ranging from illicit, transactions, abuse, misuse, deception, or manipulation of financial systems for personal gain.
According to him, offenses such as insider abuse, money laundering, terrorism financing, Proliferation Financing, embezzlement, Fraud (E-fraud, Banking, securities, corporate, Intellectual Property), etc had continued to pose serious concern to dispensations.
He contended that such crimes had huge economic and social impact some of which become so violent that had led to loss of lives thereby threatening the integrity, trustworthiness, stability, security, safety, and future of countries, enterprises and individuals. He said that with the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the emergence of new technologies, and the often-transnational nature of these crimes, the scope of financial crimes had broadened and created further concerns.
He extolled the potentials of robust information and communication technology (ICT) systems, describing them as critical to preventing and investigating financial crimes or mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in financial markets.
Commending such systems as having facilitated compliance with established standards or regulations, providing a platform that allowed the monitoring, tracing, and analyzing of digital transactions in real-time, he noted that ICT systems had made possible the security of stored data and encryption technologies which he said were critical for safeguarding sensitive financial data.
“Technological advancements have significantly aided crime prevention and law enforcement agency performance. Large datasets have been analyzed using advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms to look for trends that indicate criminal activity. Based on historical data and real-time intelligence, predictive police programs have arisen to foresee and prevent crimes. Digital forensics techniques have also proven useful in criminal investigations’’, he noted.
“Historically, a variety of legacy technologies have been used to combat crime; however, in more recent times, novel computer softwares and hardwares are being utilized to monitor individual transactions and communications for suspicious activity. For instance, anti-money laundering (AML) software uses algorithms to detect anomalous patterns in financial transactions that could suggest money laundering or other illegal activity. Law enforcement agencies are increasingly employing communication monitoring softwares to follow and analyze digital communications, such as emails, social media interactions, and instant messaging, in order to discover potential threats or illegal behaviour. These technologies improve the ability to detect and prevent illegal digital activity.
“Nigeria’s telecoms sector has grown significantly, resulting in massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis. The advent of advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) provides a gateway to identify suspicious digital patterns indicative of crime. Through partnerships with financial institutions data can be filtered to identify these suspicious patterns and nip them in the bud. These technologies provide real-time transaction monitoring, allowing for a proactive approach to crime prevention”, he said.
On funding, said that due to the evolving nature of technologies, investing in ICT solutions had become a challenge in the face of paucity of funds whereas, he argued, adequate funding was still required to ensure that the latest solutions were deployed up to date and relevant.
He commended the efforts of the organizers of the lecture, saying that such a forum as well as other conferences and gatherings were important for players to gather, debate and share experience and best practices in preventing financial crime.
“The purpose of these is to provide a platform for worldwide law enforcement agencies, cybersecurity specialists, and financial institutions to discuss insights and tactics for countering cyber-enabled financial crimes”, he noted.
Conclusion
ICT plays a critical role in combating financial crimes by enabling real-time surveillance, regulatory compliance, and secure data processing. It provides advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning to law enforcement organizations for better crime detection. Furthermore, hard technologies such as CCTV cameras and security systems supplement physical security measures.
However, as technology advances, new avenues for illegal conduct emerges. Cybercrime, deepfakes, and the exploitation of IoT devices all represent substantial concerns. It is critical to strike a balance between using ICT to prevent crime and protecting data privacy. Collaboration and international cooperation are required to effectively tackle financial crime. Financial crimes frequently cross borders, necessitating a collaborative effort by States to track down and capture culprits.
Conferences/lectures such as the Realnews Magazines Lecture Series allow worldwide stakeholders to share knowledge and best practices.
Continued investment in ICT solutions, as well as a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder strategy, combining technology specialists, legal professionals, and legislators, are critical in keeping up with emerging criminal methods. Public education and understanding of internet safety are also important in limiting the risks linked with the spread of criminality via technology.
