Vice President Namadi Sambo on Friday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had so far convicted 400 persons and recovered 11 billion dollars.
Delivering an address at the 10th anniversary of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in Abuja, Sambo said the government was committed to fighting money laundering to a standstill.
The vice president, who was represented by Emmanuel Iheanacho, the Minister of Interior, explained that the country was the first in the West African sub-region to enact an anti-money laundering legislation in 1995.
Mr Sambo stressed that the country was the first in the sub-region to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in 2004.
The vice president stated that the establishment of the anti-graft bodies represented a practical approach to the prevention and control of financial crimes based on international conventions and best practices.
"The government has a zero tolerance policy for corruption and financial crimes and will continue to provide resources to the various anti-graft bodies to carry out their functions optimally," Mr Sambo said.
He said the country was committed to the principles and objectives of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), adding that the authority would implement the recommendations in the mutual evaluation of the country's financial system.
He urged the development partners and multilateral institutions to continue in their provisions of technical assistance to deal with the multi-faceted problems of transnational crimes.
Mr Sambo said the country was delighted with the efforts of GIABA in the last 10 years to curb the impact of money laundering and terrorism in the sub-region.
According to him, the issues of corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing were a major problem not just within the West African sub-region, adding that it was a global phenomenon.
"The crimes have had adverse impact on regional security and development, including reputational damage to the image of member states,'' Mr Sambo said.
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