The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has moved to grant the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) access to its database to probe fraudulent companies.
The action is part of the commission’s effort aimed at collaborating with anti-corruption agencies in the fight against corruption especially in the investigation of companies with suspicious activities.
This was disclosed by the Registrar-General of CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, when the CCB Chairman, Prof. Muhammad Isah visited him at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Abubakar said the time was ripe for the commission to explore more areas of collaboration particularly in real-time.
He stressed that in view of CAC’s strategic collaboration with other anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC and INTERPOL, the commission had established a dedicated unit to expeditiously handle requests for information and other services.
The CAC boss also pointed out that any member of the public could conduct what he called a first level check on the status of any company on the CAC Website, through the Public Search window at no cost.
Explaining further on the introduction of Beneficial Ownership Disclosure or Person with Significant Control, Abubakar revealed that the disclosure would soon be extended to open data format, noting that it would enable investigators extract information on any company as well as query the database to detect whether a particular name had featured in different companies.
Abubakar also revealed that the commission was working assiduously for integration with the National Identity Management Commission’s database to enable it validate the identity of anyone applying to register a company.
He added that it would eliminate incidences of submitting cloned copies of means of identification to the CAC.
The CAC boss, therefore, reiterated his commitment to ensuring continued synergy and collaboration with the CCB and other anti-Corruption bodies in a bid to strengthen the anti-money laundering and anti-corruption initiatives of the Federal Government.
Speaking at the occassion, Isa expressed satisfaction with the support and cooperation the CCB had received from the Registrar General since his assumption of office.
Isa, who said the CAC and CCB had a lot to do in order to enhance the economic well-being of the country, further noted that Abubakar had ensured expeditious and effective treatment of all requests from the CCB.
The CCB Chairman said in view of emerging trends in Company Law, there was need for more robust collaboration between the two agencies to unravel the identities of those perpetrating various economic crimes in the country.
What you should know
- It can be recalled that in August 2019, the then acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, stressed the need for the CAC, to cooperate with the anti-corruption agency in the fight against corruption, especially in its investigations of companies involved in suspicious activities.
- Magu further stressed the need for the CAC to ensure that due diligence is carried out when registering any company, as part of efforts to check the prevalence of companies set up to perpetrate fraud.
- He observed that some proxy companies were being set up in Borno and Yobe states, with the sole aim of siphoning public funds, and affirmed that the EFCC remains unrelenting in its efforts to go after such companies.
