EFCC, FBI Move to Probe Alleged Diversion of USAID HIV, TB Funds

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are set to investigate alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds released for HIV and tuberculosis programmes in Nigeria.

The probe will trace the funds, establish their beneficiaries and determine whether they were used for the purposes for which they were provided.

The Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I), Bawa Usman Kaltungo, gave the assurance on Thursday when an FBI delegation visited the Commission’s zonal office.

The delegation, led by Marcus Maccain, Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché at the FBI, discussed ways to deepen cooperation between the two agencies.

The meeting focused on financial irregularities allegedly linked to organisations that implemented HIV and tuberculosis interventions supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Maccain said the visit followed the United States Government’s decision to shut down some USAID-supported programmes in 2025.

He said the cancellation raised questions about the management of funds that remained with implementing organisations after the projects ended.

According to him, some organisations allegedly mismanaged or diverted funds allocated to them before the programmes were terminated.

“We are seeking stronger engagement with the EFCC to establish how the funds were managed and identify possible financial misconduct arising from the termination of the programmes,” Maccain said.

Also speaking, Special Agent Jeremy Kennon of the Office of Inspector General, United States Department of State, said the American and Nigerian governments had previously agreed to finance organisations implementing HIV and tuberculosis programmes across Nigeria.

Kennon said some of the organisations established one-stop centres to provide HIV treatment under the initiatives.

However, he said subsequent reviews uncovered concerns about inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and other parts of the country.

The US investigator stressed that such concerns were not peculiar to Nigeria, adding that similar cases had emerged in other countries.

He said the FBI was interested in building a long-term partnership with the EFCC, particularly through reciprocal intelligence sharing.

“We’d like to work with the EFCC on this on a long-term basis, and we’ll be sharing information with you; not just getting information from you,” Kennon said.

Responding on behalf of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, Kaltungo described cooperation between Nigerian and US law enforcement agencies as longstanding.

He said the Commission would conduct a coordinated investigation into the allegations and follow the financial trail across the country.

Kaltungo said investigators would establish how the money was spent and whether recipients applied it to the intended programmes.

He added that the investigation would also determine whether any funds were mismanaged or diverted after the cancellation of the affected programmes.

“We will trace the funds to their ultimate beneficiaries and establish how the money was spent; whether it was deployed for the purposes for which it was provided and whether any portion was mismanaged or diverted following the cancellation of the programmes,” he said.

Kaltungo further assured the FBI delegation that the probe would cover all states where the affected organisations and programmes operated.