The President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Alhaji Aliyu Wamako, has said that his association collaborates with the Economic and Financial…

The President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Alhaji Aliyu Wamako, has said that his association collaborates with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to combat money laundering in the sector.

There are speculations that the real estate sector is now a haven for money laundering, especially with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new policy of redesigning the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes as a means of mopping up the excess cash in circulation.

Wamako, who debunked the allegation that members of the association were benefitting from illicit financial flows, said REDAN would always support the anti-graft agencies to fight money laundering.

He said, “We have collaboration with the EFCC, we have collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to stop money laundering in real estate. That is why now we deem it fit to take the real estate development regulation bill to the National Assembly so that we can have effective teeth to bite on this issue.

“Anybody who is involved in money laundering will be easily traced once the bill is signed into law. It is for the interest of the Nigerian people for this bill to be signed into law. It has already passed the second reading at the senate and it is at the House of Representatives for concurrence. Once that is done, nobody will do real estate business without registering with these agencies.”