Nigerian Customs has intercepted undeclared foreign currencies worth about N2.28 billion from an Austrian national, Mr Kavlak Onal.
The money was recovered at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) while the suspect was attempting to board an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai.
The seizure was disclosed by the Customs Area Controller, MMIA Command, Comptroller Chidi Nwokorie, on Tuesday while briefing newsmen in Lagos, highlighting the growing enforcement of anti‑money‑laundering and foreign exchange control laws at Nigeria’s borders.
Comptroller Chidi Nwokorie said officers of the Anti‑Money Laundering Unit arrested the suspect, identified as Onal, on Saturday, December 13, as he prepared to depart the country. Nwokorie explained that customs officials asked the passenger about currency declaration, but “the passenger … answered in the negative.”
A thorough search of Onal’s luggage, the controller said, revealed 651,505 euros and 800,575 dollars concealed in his travelling bag. The combined total, he stated, exceeded the legally permitted declaration threshold of 10,000 dollars or its equivalent when converted to Naira, valuing the cash at about N2.28 billion.
On the legal basis for the seizure, Nwokorie said the action was carried out under existing laws empowering customs to prevent illicit financial flows. He listed key statutes, saying the interception was done in line with extant laws, including “Section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995; Sections 3(3 to 5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; and Section 55(1) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.”
He noted that customs officers resisted attempts at compromise and successfully prevented the funds from leaving the country. On the legal obligations of travellers, he clarified that carrying large sums is not itself an offence. What constitutes a violation, he said, is “failure to declare foreign currency above the approved threshold,” as well as false or under‑declaration.
Comptroller Nwokorie urged law‑abiding travellers to make truthful declarations at designated currency declaration desks in airport arrival and departure halls “to avoid legal consequences.”
Mr Richard Adejumo, Assistant Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), commended the Customs Service for the effective inter‑agency collaboration.
“We will pick up the investigation from where the Nigeria Customs Service stopped. We will do justice to the case and ensure a thorough investigation … I appreciate the Customs Service for the synergy that led to the interception of this huge sum of undeclared foreign currencies at the airport,”he said
Nigeria’s foreign exchange laws require travellers to declare any currency above $10,000 or its equivalent before departure. The Nigeria Customs Service enforces this at ports and airports to prevent illicit financial outflows.
Failure to declare, false declaration, or under-declaration can result in prosecution and forfeiture under statutes such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
High-value undeclared cash has become a focus of enforcement as authorities step up efforts to curb money laundering and illicit financial flows at international checkpoints.