The United Arab Emirate is fully committed to supporting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the discharge of its mandate of fighting corruption in Nigeria. Fahad Al Taffat, the Emirates new envoy in Nigeria, made the pledge on Tuesday during a familiarisation visit to the headquarters of EFCC in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

The envoy who was received by EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, said he was at the EFCC to acquaint himself with the work of the agency. He noted that he had been fully apprised of the tremendous work of the Mohammadu Buhari administration in fighting corruption and violent extremism before he arrives the country. Ambassador Al Taffat promised to everything possible to assist the EFCC.

“Whatever you need, just put it in writing, I will press for it. The UAE can assist you in the areas of capacity building, technical support and intelligence sharing,” the UAE envoy said.

He assured that his country already has a robust anti-money laundering framework, with an anti- money laundering unit domiciled at the Central Bank.

In his response, Magu thanked the envoy for the visit and assured him that he would return the gesture in two weeks.

He also briefed the envoy on recent engagements between the EFCC and the UAE that culminated in the signing of a number of bilateral agreements that have increased the tempo of cooperation between Nigeria and the UAE in matters of corruption, money laundering and organised crime.

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