FG Pays 20 Whistleblowers N375.8 Million Who Helped Recover N11.6 billion- Kemi Adeosun

The FG said on Wednesday it had released about N375.8 million for payment of 20 whistleblowers who provided information that led to the recovery over N11.6 billion.

“This payment is the first under the Whistleblower Policy,” the Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said in the statement. .

“The payment underscores the commitment of the President Buhari-led administration to meet its obligations to information providers under the Whistleblower Policy, which is an essential tool in the fight against corruption.”

The minister said recent amendments to the Whistleblower Policy of the government include the introduction of a formal legal agreement between information providers and the FG.

The agreement is executed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, she said. In line with the policy, each whistleblower would be entitled to a minimum of 5% of the money involved in the corruption case reported.

The payment of the money would however be made after the successful recovery of the affected sum to government coffers, while informants whose info provide false hint, risk prosecution and jail. .

The minister said standard procedures had also been introduced to ensure the protection of the identities of information providers during the payment process. .

Mrs. Adeosun explained that all payments were taxable and were only made upon confirmation of the final recovery of related assets, after confirmation by the Attorney-General of the Federation as being free of legal disputes. .

The Minister also gave details of the Whistleblower Unit, a multi-agency team resident in the Ministry of Finance Headquarters.

The unit is staffed by personnel from the EFCC, ICPC, SSS, NPF and Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), among others. .

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