Missing N500bn in CBN: CACOL calls for independent investigation

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, on Monday demanded an independent investigation into the alleged huge financial fraud, theft and official documents manipulation on about N500 billion purportedly ploughed into a Dubai investment.

National Daily learned that CACOL in a statement by Media and Publications Coordinator, Adegboyega Otunuga, on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the Centre, Debo Adeniran, declared: “We would recollect how a popular Online Newspapers, SAHARA REPORTERS reported a scoop involving Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and his Deputy, Edward Lametek Adamu, and the Director for Finance, Dayo M. Arowosegbe, including one of the Special Advisers to the CBN Governor, Emmanuel Ukeje, who were caught on tape discussing how to cover up the loss of over N500 billion stolen from the apex bank in a private investment that went bust.

“According to the online newspapers, ‘In the two authentic telephone audio tapes exclusively obtained by Sahara Reporters, the governor and top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria haggled over plots to conceal the loss of huge sums of monies in a Dubai investment according to sources at the bank. Emefiele is heard saying in the audio to the deputy governor Adamu:  – To avoid any serious problem is just, the government just needs to agree to give us at least 100 billion cash but the government will not agree. They will kick against it.

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“The tapes revealed how the top officials managing Nigeria’s central bank connived and conspired to cover up financial fraud which has affected the Nigerian economy. As conversation rages on about the heist and Emefiele was discussing extensively with top officials of the bank to conceal the loss made with the shareholders’ funds from commercial banks (the monies were reportedly diverted to invest in Dubai to the tune of N500 Billion sometimes towards the end of 2018 and they reportedly lost that investment), Sahara Reporters quoted their CBN sources that, Mr. Emefiele and others in the bank eventually found a way out of their dilemma by diverting funds in possession of the CBN and also printed hard cold cash.”

CACOL further stated: “Though, the CBN, through one Issac Okorafor, its director, corporate communications, has confirmed the authenticity of the ‘selective conversation’ which it claimed was just a routine ‘conversations amongst Senior Management of many agencies and should not be misconstrued as anything but that’, there are threads of conversation in the tape that simply does not tally with such hand waive of the CBN Management, especially, coming against the backdrop of widespread allegations of financial scams, including, foreign currency manipulation, money laundering and round-tripping to favor a group of politically exposed persons close to the Presidency. Hence, CACOL’s calls for the two anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to immediately wade into the matter by thoroughly investigating all allegations surrounding this story and bringing culprits (if any) into justice so as to save this nation from further embarrassment and arrest the drift into financial chaos which the alleged heist was capable of throwing the country into.”

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