By Felix Khanoba
The United Kingdom Government says it discovered and froze 95 bank accounts, mostly belonging to international students, with over 3 million euro deposits in 2019 alone, saying such accounts are being used as conduits for money laundering.
The British Government warned intending Nigerian students to the United Kingdom against engaging in money laundering and other criminal activities or risk termination of their studies and prosecution, when caught.
A statement from the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, which was made available to newsmen by Deputy Director in charge of Public Relations, Mr Ben Goong, said the warning was prompted by the revelation by the UK’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) on involvement of students’ account in money laundering.
According to the NECC, students are usually targeted through social media platforms for the use of their accounts for third party funds transfer, usually for a fee.
The British Government emphasized the need for students to be mindful of how their bank accounts are used, especially for the transfer of illicit funds.
Stating its resolve to strengthen its fight against money laundering this year, the UK government said it has a plan to reintroduce a post study work visa for international graduate students in 2020 which is expected to increase the number of international students, including Nigeria.
