The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is actively engaged in efforts to deter economic criminals from finding Ghana an appealing haven for their activities.
Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah, Deputy Executive Director of Operations at EOCO, expressed that the organization is undergoing a strategic realignment while collaborating with its development partners and other law enforcement agencies to combat organized and economic crime.
“We want to stay ahead of crime and make Ghana a hell for economic criminals. Ghana will not be an attractive destination for economic criminals,” Dapilah conveyed to the Ghana News Agency.
Furthermore, he emphasized,“Those who see their colleagues in crime and think it is an easy way of making money, they better don’t go into it, because we are coming after them and whatever they would have acquired when we get them, we will deprive them of it and still send them to jail.”
Dapilah outlined that EOCO has established partnerships with significant international entities such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, and GIZ, among others. These collaborations aim to achieve the outlined goals.
Drawing on the successes of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, Dapilah emphasized the importance of shared experiences, intelligence, and strategies in confronting economic crime. He noted that EOCO has absorbed lessons from EFCC’s achievements and is working in close cooperation to address economic criminals on a cross-border basis.
In line with these efforts, EOCO has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various entities, including the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Bank of Ghana, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and BOST Company, all geared towards this common objective.
Dapilah pointed out that EOCO is revising the EOCO Act to enable the organization to generate resources through the recovery of proceeds from criminal activities. This financial autonomy will empower EOCO to fund its operations independently.
He also cautioned the public against the purchase of stolen vehicles, noting that EOCO, in partnership with the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is addressing this concern. Dapilah revealed that Vehicle Identification Numbers of suspected vehicles have been provided to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to facilitate the identification and apprehension of culprits attempting to register these vehicles.
Regarding an incident in April, EOCO had issued a statement directing individuals possessing around 95 vehicles, believed to have been stolen from the USA and Canada, to surrender them immediately. The statement provided detailed information about the vehicles and the individuals associated with them.
Through proactive measures and strong partnerships, EOCO is working relentlessly to make Ghana an unfavorable environment for economic criminals and to uphold the rule of law.
Source – citinewsroom.com
