The surge in real estate, hotel and hospitality industry between 2006 and 2008 is traceable to local money laundering activities, according to BusinessDay sources, some of who equally underlined the vulnerability of the real estate sector in the country to money laundering, given the huge volume of monetary transactions involved.
BusinessDay investigations also reveal that the wide involvement of legal professionals, using ‘out of sight’ endorsements, in the completion of most of the real estate deals, helped conceal some of the most outrageous money laundering transactions.
The transactions often involved widespread use of bulk cash by ‘front men’ for rogue politicians, bank chief executives with sullied relations with criminals as well as public servants, some of who spent between two and four years in state government or holding federal appointments.
“A sizeable proportion of the properties acquired by AMCON were bought during these boom years,” says Seyindemi Ibikunle, a market analyst, underlining how money laundering in the real estate industry could easily be disguised as genuine commercial transaction among the large number of legitimate transactions taking place.
Detailed study link: here