The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has promised to partner with the Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders in Nigeria (IMBLN) to get rid of fraudulent, unlicensed, and quacking in the mortgage industry.
The Director, the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), Daniel Isei, gave this commitment while speaking at the Mortgage/Real Estate Conference held in Abuja recently.
Isei observed that many fraudulent people use real estate to cover their shady deals, safeguard illicit wealth, and get a huge return on investment.
According to him, some fraudulent people in this country invest in real estate to keep illicit wealth without being traced by anti-graft agencies.
“They can do this because the sector has not been regulated. Some Practitioners don’t comply with provisions of law regarding cash deposits and foreign currency transactions’’, he said.
While responding to a request to make certification of IMBLN compulsory for SCUML registration, Isei said: “We are ready to partner with the Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders in Nigeria. We have received four correspondences from the Institute and the commission will work with them to sanitise the Mortgage industry.”
Meanwhile, an academic, Professor Uche Uwaleke, has advised the institute to collaborate with the Association of Vice Chancellors and National University Commission (NUC) to mount Mortgage Studies at the Postgraduate level.
Uwaleke said developing joint courses and curriculum will build the next generation of professional Mortgage Brokers and Lenders in the country.
In his remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Federal Mortgage Bank, Madu Hamman said President Bola Tinubu has given the directive for Mortgage Banks, Microfinance, and Housing financial institutions to collaborate with the view of facilitating access to mortgage financing for potential home buyers.
Hamman applauded the president for appointing a professional in the built environment, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa as Minister of Housing and Urban Development.
Earlier, the Registrar of the institute, Jasper Adeleye, while addressing Journalists, said the country is yet to explore huge business potential in the mortgage industry.
Adeleye noted that the mortgage industry is contributing less than five percent to Nigeria’s GDP due to activities of fraudulent, unlicensed, and quack mortgage brokers, lenders, and developers operating across the country.
He said the institute is a regulatory body to promote professionalism, ethics, and best practices within the mortgage brokering and lending sector as contained in the establishment ACT signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
