It was revealed yesterday that a minister and the former governor of the central bank, Godwin Emefiele, will stand trial in relation to the scandal that rocked the top bank last year.
The minister Emefiele and fourteen other people charged with over N26.6 trillion in fraud have been recommended for trial following a five-month investigation.
Top officials of the apex bank, both current and former, are among those implicated.
Emefiele may also be charged alongside a former significant aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The aide is said to have instructed Emefiele to move forward with the naira redesign in September 2022.
It was claimed that 16 former employees of the government and CBN had used “Ways and Means,” worth N26.627 trillion, fraudulently.
N31.79 billion of the N61.5 billion cost of the new notes’ printing has already been covered.
There were hints that the assistant had also given the former president a “dummy.”
Numerous infractions, including alleged looting, fund diversion, and sidelining of the board of directors, were discovered during preliminary investigations into the CBN’s and associated entities’ operations.
A lack of presidential approval, excessive spending, forgery, concealment, stealing, conspiracy, and fraud were among the other accusations.
Unauthorized financial transactions
Based on the Office of Special Investigator’s report, The Nation was able to obtain certain documents that provided insight into the CBN’s corruption.
Mr. Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator on CBN and Related Entities, was named in July 2023.
His Interim Report was turned in on December 9, 2023.
It was discovered that on December 20, the President received the final report.
A “monumental scandal,” according to a source, was revealed by the investigations.
Highlights from the initial phase of the investigation into the CBN’s finances and operations are contained in certain documents that The Nation has access to.
It was found that Emefiele had opened 593 accounts in the US, China, and the UK with public funds (billions of dollars) without permission.
Emefiele held £543,482, 213 in fixed deposits in the UK alone without the Investment Committee’s or the CBN Board’s approval.
Additionally, the beneficiaries of the roughly N1.7 trillion spent on COVID 19 intervention management were not reached.
Ways and Means
The manipulation of “Ways and Means” by Emefiele and his team represented a significant advancement in the investigation of the CBN.
Investigations reveals that the former governor of the CBN and those under his supervision were unable to provide proof of “Ways and Means,” which is currently valued at N26.627 trillion.
It was discovered that there had been instances of arbitrary withdrawals of billions of Naira from the country’s Consolidated Revenue Fund account without the president’s consent.
The following were some of the conclusions: “The majority of the expenses listed under “Ways and Means” could not be proven to have presidential approval by the CBN officers or even by the Acting CBN Governor at the time.
“When confronted to provide the breakdown of the supposed N22,719,703,774,306.90 that was presented to the 9th National Assembly to illegally securitise as “Ways and Means” financing, they were only able to partially explain a total of N9,063,286,720,318.92 or N9,258,040,720,318.92 (depending on which official you are considering his submission) and an unreasonable attribution of non-negotiated/unadvised interest element of N6,678,874,321,541.97.
This shows the point where the officers of the immediate past administration as well the erstwhile CBN governor and others connived, defrauded and stole from the common wealth of the country with the aid of civil servants.
“The true position of the “Ways and Means” as documented from the reconciliation between the CBN and the Ministry of Finance at the time is N4, 449, 149, 411. 584.54. This may have been the main reason the past administration hurriedly sought that the advances of N22,719,703,774,306.90 be securitised by the 9th National Assembly on the 19th December 2022; which they also hurriedly did despite the fact that it contravenes Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007.”
“The investigation revealed that, on December 19, 2022, the CBN Governor signed a recommendation to former President Muhammadu Buhari to reorganize the “Ways and Means” of N23,719,703,774,306.90, even though he had given the National Assembly a different figure on the same day.
The document stated, “The fact that the former governor of the CBN recorded the balance of the “Ways and Means” as N26.63 trillion as of June 8, 2023, demonstrates an unrepentant attitude of the CBN management because they continued to carry the “Temporary Advances to the Federal Government” as a running current account, despite the obvious violation of Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, which they swore to uphold.”
Naira restructure
Working with various teams of intrepid investigators, Obazee also unearthed the mysteries surrounding the naira redesign, which came dangerously close to bringing down the country’s economy.
The investigation’s findings verified that Emefiele received the instruction from an ex-presidential aide.
“Naira notes and coins shall be of such forms and designs and bear such devises as shall be approved by the President on the recommendation of the Board of the CBN,” according to Section 19(1) of the CBN Act.
The purported instructions from the former presidential aide to Emefiele were not made clear.
As claimed in a document, President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN Board did not approve the Naira redesign in line with the law. Buhari just followed along. The former governor of the CBN occasionally stated in September 2022 that one of the president’s assistants advised him to go think about redesigning the Naira during his visit to the Presidential Villa.
“Emefiele wrote to Buhari on October 6, 2022, requesting permission to restyle and reorganize the N1,000, N500, N200, and N100 notes. The same day, Buhari gave his approval to the plan. Yet Buhari gave his approval for the money to be printed in Nigeria.
“On October 6, 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari granted Emefiele’s request and gave him instructions to redesign and reorganize the four Naira note denominations in accordance with prayer, but to print them locally.
“Emefiele failed to seek advice from the CBN Board or consult with the CBN management, as mandated by Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007.”
“Emefiele did not ask for the CBN Board’s recommendation, did not contact former President Muhammadu Buhari to inform him of the redesigns, and did not ask for the president’s approval for the fact that he is now only recommending three denominations.”
“Emefiele paid £205,000. He took the redesigns, which were just color changes, to De La Rue in the UK. There were only N1,000, N500, and N200 redesigns.
N769 billion of the new notes were in use as of August 9, 2023. N31.79 billion of the N61.5 billion printing cost has already been covered.
The investigation verified in a different document that billions of dollars had been invested in 593 foreign accounts in the US, China, and the UK without board or presidential approval.
“While he was in charge, the former governor of the CBN invested Nigerian funds without authorization in 593 foreign accounts in the US, China, and the UK.
“Every account where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator, In the UK alone, Emefiele kept £543,482, 213 in fixed deposits without authorization by the CBN board and the Investment Committee of the bank,” the document added
COVID-19 intervention funds
The inability to track down approximately N1.62 trillion in COVID-19 intervention funds was another scandal that came to light.
The N1,622,119,412,095.16 was found to have been covertly transferred to the following people and organizations: the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (N196, 190,789,994.72); MDAs (N303,514, 294,725.21); Police Trust Fund (N29,750,000,000.00); Companies and individuals (N22,680, 275, 135.45); borrowed for salaries (N720, 682,827,000.00); donations to the public (N40,000,000,000.00); and others (N293,986, 243,831.39).
N17b being diverted by DMB
Regarding the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was charged with illegally influencing the President’s approval.
According to an investigation, 14 Deposit Money Banks (DMB) participated in the “criminal diversion of N17, 232,349, and 193.55.”
However, as of the time of publication, the list of the 14 banks remained confidential.
“We have the list which includes some rated banks,” the source stated. However, Nigerians will be aware of them when the time is right.
Over N3 billion in refunds are owed by each of the two banks.
A respectable bank must return at least N8, 902, 081 in reimbursements.
A web management company is also required to reimburse N4.8 billion, which is the amount that was allegedly unlawfully taken from NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited.
In order to shed light on Emefiele’s actions, the investigation’s summary read as follows: “The then-President Goodluck Jonathan correctly declared that NESI ought to be a Company Limited by Guarantee in his Presidential Approval, but the Committee of Governors deceived the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria by, among other things:
“Based on a nonexistent recommendation from the Attorney General’s Office andthe Minister of Justice, to establish a Company Limited by Shares, wherein the Allotted Capital surpasses the Authorized Capital (Refer to the January 2015 Committee of Governors’ 380% Meeting); and
“Appointing unapproved share capital without the Federal Republic of Nigeria President’s legal consent.”
The illegal issuance of debentures by NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited was also discovered during the investigation.
“Presidential Approval (NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited) was misrepresented.” Former President Goodluck Jonathan had authorized NESI to be an SPV limited by guarantee; however, Emefiele changed it to a company limited by shares by relying on nonexistent advice.
As it is not permitted to create a Debenture Trust, an SPV is legally unable to issue Debentures. Even worse, since it lacks a trading or earnings history to support the requirements of the debenture issue, a virgin entity with no operational track record is unable to issue debentures.
Despite this, on January 21, 2015, at its meeting, the Committee of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria authorized NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited to issue debentures.This constituted a violation of Section 31 of the CBN Act, 2007 since it resulted in the initial diversion of N64,861,954,000.00 (sixty four billion, eight hundred and sixty-one million, nine hundred and fifty-four thousand only) from public funds under the pretext of issuing debentures. By the Financial Year end of 2021, this practice has increased to N952,414,745,000 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Two Billion, Four Hundred and Fourteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Five Thousand Naira Only), the document stated.
“Four companies received N1.325 billion in pre-incorporation theft, with a legal firm receiving N300 million of that money.”
“A total of 14 DMBs engaged in the manipulation by unlawfully arranging and collecting 1.9535 percent of the total disbursements paid to the DMBs participating in the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization facility,” the note regarding the accusations against certain banks stated.
“External Auditor’s Notes to the Financial] Statement of NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited state that the fees are paid to the banks in the ratio of their contributions to the NEMSF disbursement.”
Additionally, N4, 897,789,000 that was allegedly “illegally diverted from NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited” was paid to a company associated with certain CBN officials.
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