The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged an Austrian national, Kavlak Onal, for allegedly failing to declare $800,575 and €651,505 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, during a routine anti-money laundering check. Onal, who was scheduled to board an Emirates Airline flight to Dubai, was intercepted on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Currency Declaration Desk, according to authorities. The EFCC, quoting its social media statement, confirmed: “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, January 9, 2026, arraigned one Kavlak Onal, an Austrian national… for allegedly failing to declare the sums of $800,575 and €651,505 in his possession.”
Onal was arraigned before Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, after being arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). EFCC officials said investigations and prosecution would continue in line with Nigeria’s Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations. The commission noted that the interception occurred during a routine screening process at the airport’s currency declaration point. No further details on Onal’s plea or defence were provided at the time of filing this report.