The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has recovered an additional N1.4 billion for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

According to a statement by the EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, Tuesday, the money is part of the funds which some commercial banks fraudulently refused to transfer to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) since 2015.

Mr Uwujaren said the money was released to the agency on 5 August.

NHIS was established in 2004 to provide social health insurance in Nigeria under an arrangement whereby health care services of contributors are paid from the common pool of funds contributed by the participants of the scheme.

In January, the agency partnered with the EFCC to improve digital transformation with regard to health insurance.

Recall that on 10 February, the commission announced that it had remitted a tranche of N1.5 billion to the scheme in a similar manner.

This, the commission said, was preceded by N1. 3 billion it also helped the NHIS to recover from the banks to the agency in September 2021.

NHIS had announced in August 2021 that over N12 billion belonging to it was trapped in the bank.

The NHIS Executive Secretary, Muhammad Sambo, said this during a courtesy visit to EFCC chairperson, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on 29 July 2021, the statement added.