The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked banks to investigate the sources of income of their customers.
EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa gave the charge during the week when members of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) visited him in Abuja.
Bawa said: “I will like to urge you to know your customers. Know the kind of businesses they do before opening an account for them because some customers will open an account and within a space of two months a huge sum of money is found in the account.
“There is the need for you to try and query this information, including their linked accounts,”
He warned that the anti-graft agency would from September 1 start holding banks liable where there are established cases of complicity in the sector.
Bank auditors, according to him, should take issues of transparency in banking operations seriously.
Vice-chairman of the association Uduak Udoh alleged that some customers connive with bank officials in fund looting..
He said: “Some customers are conniving with bank personnel to loot funds. We want you to look into that area. Not only the banks, but we are also ready to give you all the cooperation you need.
“We want you to trust bank auditors with information sharing because we cannot support fraudulent officials as they are a threat.”
The EFFC had in March asked bank employees to declare their assets to check their roles in keeping funds acquired illegitimately.