The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it recovered more than N1.23 trillion and $684 million in various currencies during the 34 months of Ola Olukoyede’s leadership.

Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, while presenting an account of his stewardship at the commission.

According to the EFCC chairman, the commission recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 during the period under review.

He said about N397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recoveries, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while approximately N836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.

Olukoyede noted that the figures meant that “two out of every three naira recovered” were recovered for beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.

On prosecution, the EFCC chairman said the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026.

He put the commission’s conviction-to-filing ratio at 75.1 per cent, adding that 1,370 convictions were secured from 1,889 filings in the first half of 2026 alone.

According to him, the figures reflected what he described as a prosecutorial approach focused on evidence and courtroom outcomes.

Olukoyede also said EFCC data showed a changing financial crime landscape, with 46,288 offences recorded between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date across nine major categories.

He said advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two-thirds of the recorded offences, while total offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable rises in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic governance-related offences.

“This tells us that the fight against economic and financial crime is not only about grand corruption. Every day, we are protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crime and other forms of economic exploitation,” he said.

The EFCC chairman said the commission had continued to prosecute high-profile cases involving former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of government agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate executives.

He disclosed that the commission recorded 920 cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, resulting in 212 convictions.

Olukoyede said money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases accounted for the largest portion of the specialised enforcement portfolio, while the commission was also responding to emerging threats involving virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.

He stressed that asset recovery would only have meaningful impact when recovered funds and properties were returned to the public interest and rightful beneficiaries.

According to him, N661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries during the period under review.

The naira releases included approximately N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate organisations, while N335.97 billion was released to ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services and other public institutions, companies and individuals.

Olukoyede also disclosed that federal and state tax recoveries amounted to about N288.1 billion, comprising N173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and N114.9 billion attributed to state internal revenue services.

An additional N257.2 billion in naira recoveries, he said, was recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.

He highlighted the use of recovered proceeds to support national development, including the Federal Government’s allocation of N50 billion each to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation in 2024, as well as another N50 billion each for the two institutions in 2026 from EFCC recoveries.

The EFCC boss also cited the forfeiture of a former private university, which was converted by the Federal Government into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State. He said 1,909 students were matriculated into the institution in December 2025.

Beyond monetary recoveries, Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.

The assets included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate properties, 370 vehicles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.

The commission also secured the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.

According to Olukoyede, proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07 billion, which was paid to the Federal Government.

He said the commission’s enforcement activities had also contributed to strengthening Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.

Olukoyede described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 as a national achievement, adding that the EFCC’s investigations and enforcement activities contributed to the broader effort.

In the foreign exchange sector, he said the commission recorded 234 cases involving bureaux de change, resulting in 73 convictions over the past three years.

He said the enforcement was aimed at supporting a more formal and transparent foreign exchange market while closing channels vulnerable to illicit financial flows, speculation and round-tripping.

On institutional reforms, Olukoyede said the EFCC had introduced several measures to improve its operational efficiency, including new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations and the creation of specialised units.

These include the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.

He said the commission also commissioned directorates in Enugu and Ilorin and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states to improve public access to its services.

Other reforms include policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security, while the Internal Affairs Department was renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department.

Olukoyede said the commission was also investing heavily in digitalisation, with almost 60 per cent of its processes and operations now digitalised.

He identified the new EFCC Academy, the 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio among initiatives designed to strengthen the commission’s response to emerging financial crimes.

Overall, Olukoyede described the past 34 months as a period of sustained enforcement, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution, institutional reform and stronger collaboration with local and international partners.