LASRERA, EFCC to curb Real Estate Fraud

By Kunle Awosiyan

Deputy Editor, Politics & Government

The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority is set to engage the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in its efforts to curb fraud in the sector.

The Special Adviser to the state governor on housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka disclosed this at a Real Estate Outlook 2023 forum organised by the Nigeria- British Chamber of Commerce recently.

With the theme, “Pitching your tent post-2023 election held at Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, the forum expressed concern over the increasing rate of reported fraudulent cases in the real estate sector.

To curb this, Benson-Awoyinka said that LASRERA had sought the partnership of relevant law enforcement agencies to address growing public concerns in the sector.

According to her, LASRERA will be partnering with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to make sure that the real estate industry is sanitised and made attractive to real estate investors, while also encouraging individuals and organisations to register with the agency.

She told participants at the event to team up with the agency by complying with the reviewed LASRERA Law.

According to her, the reviewed law will assist in gathering data for the State’s Real Estate investments such that investors/investees would be able to operate under an atmosphere that promotes ease of doing business in line with the vision of the present administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

She clarified that the real estate practitioners’ database being compiled by LASRERA was not meant for taxation purposes but for infrastructural development in line with international best practices in the real estate sector.

“The value chains of this real estate system are yet to be unlocked in which job and wealth creations can be established with the training of young people to take the works of artisans in the sector rather than employing those from neighbouring countries. This will assist in the creation of job opportunities for our young people and also add value to our currency”, she said.

She encouraged those involved in property construction to always engage insurance companies to safeguard investments of not only those who died during construction works but also people that had invested in the projects too.