TheNewsGuru

Tag: Accounts

  • Benue, Akwa Ibom: NGF speaks on EFCC’s power to freeze states’ accounts

    The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has described as unconstitutional the freezing of the accounts of Akwa Ibom and Benue State Governments by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, the Chairman of NGF, spoke with State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Recall that the EFCC had on Tuesday froze the state’s account which was confirmed by Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom.

    The anti-graft agency also froze the Akwa Ibom State accounts on Wednesday.

    Yari said that by the security situation in Benue, it was not wise to dislocate the state financially.

    “If EFCC freezes the accounts of any state government, Benue or anywhere else, I think it is unconstitutional, it is not right, because you are shutting down government.

    “Government must spend, more especially Benue where there are issues of insecurity.

    “So, we do not know why the EFCC took the action. I do not think it is correct, but if it is correct, then my own point of view is wrong.

    “But I believe this government will not sit down and oversee unlawful operations happening from the security agencies.

    “From what happened yesterday, someone can understand that this government is following due process and laws of Nigeria.

    “EFFC’s action in Benue is something that should be reversed,’’ he said.

    Speaking on Tuesday’s blockade of the National Assembly, Yari said it was very unfortunate, but however, said that the attendant reaction by the acting president had vindicated the federal government in the eyes of local and international communities.

    He recalled that similar incidents occurred in 2011 and 2014 respectively but no serious action was taken by the then government.

    According to him, the government of Muhammadu Buhari is following due process and will never oversee unlawful activities within the security agencies.

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, who was also in the Presidential Villa, told correspondents that Tuesday’s incident at the National Assembly was an embarrassment which should not have been allowed to happen.

    On defection of his deputy, Hafizu Abubakar, to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ganduje said there was no cause for alarm.

    According to him, it is the season of defection as the All Progressives Congress (APC) is also receiving defectors from other parties.

    “The state House of Assembly wanted to impeach him but I was prevailing on them but they insisted, when he saw the handwriting on the wall, he decided to resign.

    “They wanted to continue with the impeachment because he committed some impeachable offences, but I pleaded and they dropped the charges and allowed him to go, that is politics,’’ he said.

     

  • BREAKING: EFCC freezes accounts of Akwa Ibom, Benue states

    Information reaching TNG has it that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen the bank accounts of the Akwa Ibom and Benue state governments.

    A top official of the Akwa Ibom state government confirmed the development to newsmen on Wednesday.

    The source said Udom Emmanuel, the governor, and accountant-general of the state were shocked by the development.

    The report of the freezing of Akwa Ibom government accounts happened 24 hours after the commission blocked those of Benue government.

    Recall that a former governor of the state and a serving senator, Godswill Akpabio is currently decamping to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at a special rally organized for him in the state.

    Akpabio had earlier tendered his resignation as the Minority Leader of the Senate.

    Meanwhile, the Benue State authorities also confirmed that the funds meant to pay the salaries of workers and pensioners in state have also been frozen by the EFCC.

    “Accounts of the Benue State Government have been frozen by EFCC,” Terver Akase, a spokesperson for Governor Samuel Ortom, said in a statement.

    “It is part of the political witch-hunt against Governor Samuel Ortom. The action of EFCC is already having negative impact on the running of government in Benue State. It is a move that will affect salaries, pensions and other sundry payments,” Akase said.

    His confirmation came a day after the Vanguard reported that at least three bank accounts which the state held with GTBank, First Bank and Fidelity Bank had been blocked by the anti-graft office as part of a corruption probe.

    Several reports last week said the EFCC was investigating Ortom for up to N22 billion in security funds allegedly feared plundered under his supervision.

    The governor has denied the allegations, saying they were amongst a desperate plot to oust him as governor. He said the plot was bu to his recent defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

    Ortom is also facing a battle with some APC lawmakers in the state who are scheming to remove him from office. Initial attempts by eight lawmakers to serve the governor a notice of impeachment were rebuffed by his loyalists and condemned across the country, including by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Akase emphasised the political undertone of the EFCC’s action in his statement Wednesday, warning the agency not to allow itself be used by political players.

    “The question we are asking is; why did EFCC not investigate the Governor’s security votes when he was still a member of APC? Why start the investigation now?

    “EFCC should not allow itself to be used as an attack dog unleashed against perceived political opponents’” Mr Akase said.

    The reported freezing comes days after the APC accused Mr Ortom of squandering security votes and politicising the deaths of his state residents. Mr Ortom strongly denied the allegations.

    “Let the Federal Government tell us how much it has spent on prosecuting the fight against Boko Haram and how much it spent on the other operations such as Python Dance, Crocodile Smile and Whirl Stroke.

    “Benue has suffered heavy attacks by Fulani herdsmen since the beginning of the year. Within the period, the State Government has spent a lot to legitimately support security agencies to protect the people of the state. Governor Ortom has not diverted funds. He runs a transparent administration.

    “We welcome the investigation, but as I said earlier, it should start from the presidency and go across the 36 states. Benue should not be singled out for victimisation, intimidation and harassment as the federal government with its agencies is currently doing,” Mr Akase said.

    However, efforts to reach the spokesperson of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren for comments was unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.

     

  • Court freezes accounts of Navy Admiral who received billions controversially

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday granted permission to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to freeze the accounts of Tahir Yusuf, a retired naval officer.

    The judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, made the order following an ex parte order filed by Elizabeth Alabi on behalf of the EFCC chairman.

    “An order is hereby made granting the chairman of the EFCC or any officer of the commission, powers to instruct the Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc or the Chief Compliance officer of Zenith Bank to issue a freezing order.

    “The freezing order is in respect to the accounts shown in the application until investigation into the matter is concluded.”

    The judge made a similar order directing the managing director of Skye Bank to also issue a freezing order in respect to the same accounts in his bank.

    She further ordered that should investigations reveal a prima facie case against the respondent, the EFCC should take steps to prosecute appropriately as stipulated by law.

    Earlier, Mr. Alabi informed the court that the commission received intelligence report with regards to some unusual transactions between the account of the Nigerian Navy and those of Mr. Yusuf.

    She said that upon investigation, it was discovered that huge sums of money were transferred from the navy’s account to the account of Mr. Yusuf and Babajide Oguntade, both retired officers of the navy.

    “We discovered an inflow of about N2 billion into a joint account they had opened. On further investigation, we realised that the money had been spent.

    “We also uncovered about seven accounts belonging to Yusuf with the bank and these are the accounts we want the court to freeze so we can conclude our investigation, “she said.

    The counsel said that investigations were still on to unravel why monies were moved from the Nigerian Navy’s account into the individual accounts.

    Justice Ojukwu adjourned the matter until April 20, for counsel to report back.

  • SERAP to Saraki, Dogara: ‘Withdraw directives to banks to unfreeze Mrs Jonathan’s accounts’

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr Yakubu Dogara to “Urgently withdraw the patently unconstitutional directives to some banks to unfreeze former First Lady Mrs Patience Jonathan’s accounts.”

    The organization said that, “the directives to banks to unfreeze Mrs Jonathan’s accounts amount to mingling of the executive and judicial powers in the National Assembly. Checks and balances should ideally help contribute to the rule of law and strengthening our democratic dispensation but if one branch of government grows too strong and overreaching the country might be in trouble.”

    In a statement signed on Sunday by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said that, “It’s an affront to our constitutional democracy for the National Assembly to turn itself into a tool for checkmating the country’s justice system, especially the prosecution of grand corruption. Rather than helping Mrs Jonathan’s desire to achieve justice for what she may consider to be violations of her human rights, such directives are doing exactly the opposite and politicising the criminal justice process.”

    The Senate had last week decided that Mrs Jonathan’s accounts should be unfrozen, saying that some of the accounts including with Stanbic IBTC, First Bank, Union Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank and Bank Zenith Bank were frozen based on some administrative lapses. It claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) used the banks to close the accounts without due process of law. The House of Representatives in September gave a similar directive to the banks to free the former first lady’s blocked accounts.

    But SERAP said that, “Nigerians are concerned about their lawmakers’ thirst for power, and about the National Assembly aggrandizing its legislative powers without sufficient checks and constitutional scrutiny and validity. The National Assembly ought to focus the exercise of its legislative powers solely on making laws for the peace, order and good government of our country, addressing only matters of prime national concern, and when necessary, checking the excesses of the executive branch.”

    The statement reads in part: “The directives purportedly unfreezing the accounts of Mrs Jonathan will not give the public the confidence that the National Assembly will change its ways and embrace the rule of law.”

    “The National Assembly should not show itself as incapable and unwilling to address the concerns of Nigerians about its operations and apparent lack of transparency. These kinds of interventions by the National Assembly could portray our lawmakers in the eyes of Nigerians as forgetting what they are in Abuja to do.”

    “The Senate and House of Representatives should advise Mrs Jonathan to seek appropriate judicial remedies if she feels the criminal justice mechanisms have violated her human rights. That’s the essence of the rule of law, separation of powers and checks and balances. The supposed directives to banks have unfortunately again put the reputation of the National Assembly at stake.”

    “What Nigerians want and deserve is a balanced sharing of constitutional powers for the sake of the public good, and not ‘Imperial National Assembly’, a National Assembly that sits on its throne in Abuja and treats Nigerians as serfs in their fiefdoms.”

    “If the body that makes law also controls its execution, implementation and interpretation, it can effectively tailor the laws to help itself and its friends and hurt its perceived enemies. It can thwart the virtue of impartial general law-making by rendering it a tool for singling out.”

  • ‘Unfreeze Patience Jonathan’s accounts immediately’ – Reps order First, Union, Eco, other banks

    ‘Unfreeze Patience Jonathan’s accounts immediately’ – Reps order First, Union, Eco, other banks

    The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has directed six commercial banks to free accounts operated by former first lady, Patience Jonathan.

    The committee chaired by Rep. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (Abia-PDP), gave the directive on Tuesday in Abuja at a hearing on a petition by Jonathan.

    The affected banks are Union Bank, First Bank, EcoBank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank and Skye Bank.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had directed the banks to freeze the account over allegations of some irregularities over the sources of the funds.

    Officials of Union Bank, led by a lawyer, Mr Kenneth Otowo, had told the panel that the bank placed Mrs Jonathan’s account under a ‘precautionary restriction’ following a directive by the EFCC.

    “We received a communication from EFCC to put a precautionary restriction on the account. The letter was dated March 21, 2016, so we had to act based on that,’’ he said.

    But, the committee deplored the action, saying that the bank could only take such decision if EFCC proved that it had obtained a court order to that effect.

    “Until EFCC proves otherwise, I’ll ask you to remove the precautionary restriction on the account. Let me tell you, whatever you’ll do, you must follow the law. A bank can’t hold a legal entity to ransom.

    “I want to order all other banks that all the accounts that have no specific pending order from the courts, please release them.’’ the committee chairman said.

    Counsel to EcoBank, Mr Afam Osigwe, said Jonathan’s account could not have been on restriction because there was no court order to that effect.

    He later said that the bank would cross-check its records and get back to the committee.

    As for Diamond Bank, Jonathan’s lawyers said three of her accounts were frozen there.

    However, Mrs Unoma Ndulue, who represented the bank, said two out of the three accounts were fully operative, while one was closed.

    On Fidelity Bank, Mrs Jonathan’s lawyers said they did not have a direct issue with the bank, but that it was through the EFCC.

    Officials of First Bank and Skye Bank were not present at the meeting.

    Meanwhile, the committee has given Mr Ibrahim Magu, the EFCC acting Chairman, up to Oct. 4 to appear before it or have arrest warrant issued against him.

    Similarly, the panel asked Jonathan’s lawyers and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to reconcile their positions on an alleged tax default of over N10 million.

    FIRS had said that Aridolf Resort Wellness and SPA, owned by Mrs Jonathan, failed to pay taxes in spite of serial reminders.

    However, her lawyers insisted that they had paid all their taxes to the agency.

  • EFCC traces $1.5b to Diezani’s Swiss bank accounts

    …seizes Dubai posh mansions

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has traced about $1.5billion believed to be proceeds of crime to a Swiss account as part of the ongoing probe of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    The anti-graft agency has allegedly linked the loot with the ex-minister and four of her business associates.

    The Federal Government is also perfecting plans to activate one of the agreements it signed with the United Arab Emirates to seize some mansions traced to the former minister.

    According to a top anonymous source in the anti-graft agency, four detectives on Friday left Nigeria for the United Kingdom with more clues on Mrs Alison-Madueke’s alleged loot.

    The detectives have gained access to two exotic mansions belonging to the former minister in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ahead of an Assets Forfeiture process by the Federal Government.

    The properties are located in E146 Emirates Hill Dubai and J5 Emirates Hill Dubai.

     

    “So far investigation revealed that the $1.5billion was laundered into an account in Switzerland after passing through the United States. We have the details of how the cash was wired into the account by some oil firms.

    “Our investigation confirmed that the account was used to disburse the slush funds to make exotic purchases and acquire properties in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

    “The US Department of Justice through its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is already seeking to recover $144m in assets from some Diezani associates.”

    The team of detectives that went to the United Kingdom is the second this year.

    “We are working hard on how to seize cash and assets linked with Diezani. We want her tried at home instead of in he UK,” the source said.

    It was learnt that Mrs Alison-Madueke’s posh mansions in Dubai was worth about 74million Dirham.

    The source added:”Apart from the database made available to us by the UAE, there is no hiding place for Diezani, her associates and all the Politically Exposed Persons( PEPs) because the UAE has a Beneficial Ownership policy which will give details of those with assets, even if they are bought through proxies.”

    With the location of the two assets of the ex-minister, the Federal Government will invoke the agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters(recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth) between Nigeria and the UAE to initiate a forfeiture.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that President Muhammadu Buhari on January 19, 2016 entered into six agreements with the Emirates, including the Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters(recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).

  • Court approves EFCC’s power to freeze suspicious accounts

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the power of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has the power to freeze suspicious accounts.

    The court said the anti-graft agency can direct banks to suspend operation of accounts suspected to have been used for criminal activities, or any account of into which slush funds and proceeds of crime have been deposited.

    The court, however, said such a directive by the EFCC to banks must be followed by an order of a court for interim freezing, which it must obtain from a competent court, to enable it conduct investigation to ascertain the origin of the funds.

    The appellate court said these in a unanimous judgment by its three-man panel on an appeal by Messrs A. R. Security Solutions Limited, which challenged the refusal by a Federal High Court in Abuja to vacate an interim freezing order earlier granted against it.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja had on January 25, 2016, granted an ex-parte application by the EFCC for, among others, an interim freezing order on A. R. Security accounts with Heritage Bank.

    However A.R. Security later applied to the court to have the order set aside, a request Justice Nyako, in a ruling on April 22, 2016, refused, prompting the company to approach the appellate court.

    Justice Mohammed Mustapha, who prepared the lead judgment of the appellate court, resolved the sole issue raised for determination against the appellant.

    The issue was whether the trial court was right to have held that the EFCC could obtain an order of court to temporarily freeze the appellant’s account, once the account is the subject of investigation.

    Justice Mustapha said while the EFCC was empowered, under sections 28 and 29 of its establishment Act to trace, attach and apply for interim freezing order on such suspicious accounts, the court, under Section 44(2)(k) of the Constitution, was empowered to grant such interim injunction.

    He said: “The respondent (EFCC) clearly bears the burden of establishing that there is a prima facie evidence that the property in issue is liable to be forfeited on account of its being proceed of crime.

    “That burden is discharged once there is an arrest for an offence under the Act (EFCC Act), and the respondent traces the assets and attaches the property of the accused person acquired as a result of economic and financial crimes. That done, the respondent is entitled to an interim attachment order by the court.”

    Justice Mustapha agreed with the appellant that the EFCC must show that the origin of the suspicious funds is illegal.

    He added: “If bank accounts have to be investigated with any degree of success for the purpose of tracing criminality in transactions, how else can that be done without exercising some degree of control over the account?

    “It stands to logic and common sense that any serious investigation of criminality in a bank account has to first and foremost start with taking control of the bank account or at least putting restraints on the account; anything short of that will be quixotic, because funds in the account investigated will simply take a flight. That is the logic behind sections 28 and 29 of the Act.

    “Prima facie proof starts, for the purpose of the Act, with arrest of the accused person for financial and economic crimes, which now denotes, at this stage, that the monies in the account are likely proceeds of crimes, and therefore, liable to forfeiture, thus necessitating the grant of the interim order.

    “It is for these reasons that the money in the accounts is fair game, because that attachment and proper investigation of such accounts will assist the respondent (EFCC) in prosecuting the accused successfully or consequently lead to the discharge of the order, depending on how the investigation goes.

    “The need for credible evidence, showing the money to be proceeds of crime, underscores the necessity for the respondent’s mandate to ‘immediately trace and attach’ the property.”

    He added that the grant of the interim order by the court was to enable the EFCC conduct a holistic investigation on the account to enable it establish whether or not the origin of the funds in the affected account was illegal.

    “It has to be pointed out that ultimately, it is for the same reason that the grant of interim order becomes necessary, as it explains the necessity for the respondent to have, not only access, but control of the account, by having it frozen, anything else might end up being pyrrhic for the respondent,” Justice Mustapha said.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that other members of the panel – Justices Abubakar Datti Yahaya and Tani Yusuf Hassan – agreed with the lead judgment.

  • CBN to deactivate accounts not linked to BVN August 1

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, said it will effective from August 1, 2017, deactivate accounts of customers whose Biometric Verification Number (BVN) have not been linked to their accounts.

    The Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, disclosed this in in a circular on Monday.

    Martins explained that the CBN’s proposed deactivation will affect both customers of Deposit Money Banks (DMOs) and Other Financial Institutions (OFI).

    She noted that due to broken identification link in the banking system, it became necessary to extend the BVN enrolment to the customers of OFI especially those located in the rural areas of the country, and have customers that may not have enrolled with the DMBs.

    According to her, the BVN enrollment will support the achievement of zero default credit targets set for the participating Financial Institutions (FPIs) in the Micro, Small and medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF).

    “It will also open opportunities for credit to millions of Nigerians without standard means of identification,” she explained.

    She highlighted that OFIs are required to enroll their customers on or before July 31, 2017; conspicuously display notices sensitising customers on BVN in the banking hall; ensure that all new customers have BVN and forward to the Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department schedule of customers account with BVN on August 7, 2017.

    She explained further that the absence of identifier in the banking industry has been a major challenge inhibiting the effectiveness of the Know Your Customers (KYC) principle.

    “To address this challenges and complement the existing means of identifications of customers, which include; the Driver’s License; the international/passport; the National identity card; and the permanent Voter’s card; the CBN, in collaboration with the banker’s Committee, launched the BVN project in February 2014.

    “The BVN is expected to also minimise the incidence of fraud and money laundering in the financial system, as well as enhance financial inclusion,” Martins explained.

     

  • How we transfer victims’ funds using their phones – Suspects

     

    The Edo State Police Command have arrested a three man gang who specialize in transferring funds from their victims’ accounts to their own accounts using their victims’ mobile phones.

    According to a report by The Punch, one of the suspects, Lucky said the sum of N210, 000 was transferred from the accounts of three of their victims on the eve of the New Year through the code of a popular commercial bank.

    He said, “We transferred money from people’s account. We used to work for a telecoms company. When we see people with big phones, we told them that they could watch satellite TV stations on their phones. We also offered to help them with their subscription.

    “Through that process, we also transferred money from people’s accounts. We transferred N100, 000 each from the accounts of two individuals and N10, 000 from another account. We did it on the eve of the New Year.”

    The 19-year-old suspect said one of their victims alerted the police when she discovered a deduction in her account and raised the alarm.

    The suspect said, “The person from whose account we transferred N100, 000 saw us when we were going home and held my friend, who transferred the money and demanded his money.

    “From there, we were arrested and taken to New Benin. I regret everything. My dad is late but my mum was fed up with me because of what I did.”

    Lucky and two others were arrested by the Edo State Police Command for allegedly engaging in cybercrime and other fraudulent activities in Benin metropolis.

    They were said to have been arrested at Upper Mission Road in Oredo Local Government Area of the state, after allegedly defrauding a woman around New Benin.

    Lucky and other suspects (each aged 19 years) identified as Louis Ogidamen and Theophilus Oko, had posed as registration agents for a telecoms company.

    It was learnt that they offered to register the SIM cards of their victims.

    They were also alleged to have offered to assist their victims to enable financial transactions on their mobile phones and in the process, transferred money from the victims’ accounts to their own account.

    The Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwandu, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects were under investigation.

  • MMM assures investors of unfreezing accounts Jan. 14

    Popular Ponzi scheme, Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, MMM, has assured investors of unfreezing their accounts on January 14.

    This was a resolution reached at a meeting with one of its key Guider simply known as Mr Andrew and was contained in a circular on its official Twitter handle, @MMMNigeriaHelp.

    Recall that MMM had in December announced the suspension and freezing of its Nigerian operation, a situation that threw participants into a state of panic.

    The circular on its twitter handle reads in part: “Mavro will be unfrozen on two weeks which is 14th of this month, January.

    “We will inform investors how the funds will be released.”

    Nigerians especially those who had invested in the scheme are however anticipating MMM’s unfreezing of their accounts by the said date.