Global Fund Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Nigerian Crime-Fighting Agency
29 May 2013
The Office of the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria today signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (EFCC) to facilitate exchange of information on fraud and abuse in relation to grant programs managed by the Global Fund.
Under the Memorandum, both parties will cooperate by providing information and intelligence to each other which may help in the investigation and prosecution of anyone suspected of engaging in fraud and abuse of Global Fund grant funds and related criminal activity.
The signing of the Memorandum follows similar agreements with Malawi and Tanzania.
Both sides will consult regularly, in particular to exchange information regarding new areas of potential cooperation other joint activities falling within their respective mandates. All information exchanged will be treated as strictly confidential.
In addition to exchanging financial and criminal intelligence, both parties may cooperate in other ways, including the exchange of general information regarding fraud, abuse and other economic crimes.
"In signing this Memorandum we are not just helping you," said Ibrahim Lamorde, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Federal Crimes Commission. "What we are doing is helping ourselves. It is our moral obligation to give you our support and cooperation."
The Memorandum stipulates that any information exchanged will not be used as evidence in any judicial proceedings without the express prior consent of the party providing that information.
Nigeria's Economic and Federal Crimes Commission, with a staff of 1,800, has a mandate to fight financial and economic crimes with powers to prevent, investigate, prosecute and penalize economic and financial crimes. It also has responsibility for enforcing provisions of other laws and regulations relating to economic and financial crimes.
"This Memorandum between the Global Fund and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, a country where Global Fund grants are being distributed on a large scale, is an expression of country ownership in its most positive form," said Norbert Hauser, who heads the Office of the Inspector General.