Police urge POS operators to report transactions involving suspicious large amounts

By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin

Kwara state police command has urged ‎Operators of Point-of-Sale (POS) to promptly report any transaction involving significant sums of money to the nearest police station or security agency before completion or disbursement, to enable proper verification of the source and legitimacy of such funds.

As disclosed in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire Adeyemi, on Tuesday, this proactive measure is aimed at protecting innocent operators from being used as instruments of financial crime.

‎The command drew the attention of members of the public, particularly Point-of-Sale (POS) operators and financial service providers, to a growing trend of sophisticated fraud schemes being perpetrated by criminal elements suspected to be operating across state lines.
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‎According to the statement, intelligence available to the command indicates that some individuals from outside the state are engaging POS agents in transactions involving large sums of money, often running into millions of naira, under the guise of money transfers,in most cases, these transactions are processed with the expectation of small commissions or service charges, making POS operators unknowingly complicit in illicit financial activities.
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‎Subsequently, such POS agents are sometimes visited by law enforcement authorities from other jurisdictions for interrogation and arrest, with demands to account for the whereabouts of the supposed sender or recipient of the funds, who are often untraceable criminal actors.
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‎In view of this development, the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, CP Ojo Adekimi, strongly advised all POS operators and financial service providers to exercise extreme caution when handling unusually large transactions, especially those involving unfamiliar customers or suspicious circumstances.
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‎The Command further assured the public of its commitment to working closely with financial service stakeholders to curb fraudulent practices and maintain the integrity of financial transactions across the State.