The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned an Austrian national, Kavlak Onal, for allegedly failing to declare large sums of foreign currency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Onal was arraigned on Friday, January 9, 2026, before Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Okotie Eboh.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendant was intercepted on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, while attempting to board an Emirates Airline flight to Dubai.
EFCC stated that Onal was arrested during a routine screening at the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Currency Declaration Desk, where he was found in possession of $800,575 and €651,505, which he allegedly failed to declare as required by law.
A statement shared on the EFCC’s official social media platforms disclosed that the Austrian national was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service before being handed over to the commission for further investigation.
The EFCC said the case forms part of its ongoing enforcement of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws and regulations governing the movement of foreign currency across the country’s borders.
The matter has been adjourned, while investigation and prosecution continue.
