N288m fraud rocks FCMB…SFU wades in

Subomi Balogun

This is definitely a bad news for the management, staff and customers of First City Monument Bank (FCMB). The Police detectives at the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) of the Nigeria Police Force, have grilled three top officials of the bank over the bank’s role in cashing a N288 million third party cheque. SHOWBIZPLUSng learnt that Police authorities have also written to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation intimating both critical agencies of the ugly development.
SHOWBIZPLUSng further gathered from Police source that the cheque was controversially cleared by a Law Firm, who was not even a beneficiary or part of the beneficiaries of the staggering sum.

Police also said the cheque belongs to the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and was issued by the controversial Ibom Power Company, “in part liquidation of a N1.2Billion in the name LYK/Gulf Bank Plc.”
The Commissioner of Police (CP) Idris Umar, told our Correspondent that the N1.2Billion was a facility obtained from the defunct Gulf Bank for importation of Gas Turbine for the non-existent Ibom Power Project.
He said he inherited the fraud case from his predecessor, CP Tunde Ogunsakin, upon assumption of office. The Police boss stated further that, detectives are making effort at fetching out the particular law firm that the bank used to clear the cheque.
Policemen at SFU had said earlier that Akwa Ibom Refinery and Petrochemical Company Ltd, never existed. This is after conmen had allegedly siphoned a whopping $29.2 Million public money using the company as conduit-pipe. “Therefore we have investigated Akwa Ibom Refinery and Petrochemical Company Ltd. Such Company never existed. So why should FCMB pay a third party cheque allegedly meant for a non-existent company.” Police said.
Police investigators disclosed also that, checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have revealed that there is no company in their record called, “Akwa Ibom Refinery and Petrochemical Company Ltd.”
“There is no company named Akwa Ibom Refinery and Petrochemical Company Ltd. We have a letter from the CAC to that effect. Yet, there are records purporting the existence of the company. There are minutes of meetings and resolutions purportedly passed by the company, and there are agreements signed between this company and the Akwa Ibom State Government through its agency known as Akwa Ibom State Investment and Promotion Council (AKIIPOC)”
Umar, who disclosed this to our Correspondent, added that two Nigerian Banks. FCMB and the defunct Gulf Bank were the financial institutions actively used by the conmen to clean-up the country.
He added that another fictitious company named LYK Engineering Ltd. allegedly owned by an prominent Akwa Ibom politician also benefitted from the scam.
It was also gathered that LYK Engineering collected $17 Million to finance letter of acquisition of equities in Ibom Power Company. “So these two companies, were the two Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), used by the perpetrators of the fraud in issue, to fraudulently siphon funds, massively and with impunity, from the defunct Gulf bank, which eventually led to the untimely collapse of the bank.”
When FCMB was contacted over the fraud, Tunde Sofowora, told our Correspondent that he no longer works for the bank. He however, said the new spokesperson for the bank would respond to the enquiry. He also asked that an email be forwarded to him on the issue for onward transmission to the new person.
After the email was sent, one Ikechukwu Kalu called our correspondent and requested another email be sent to him to enable him investigate the incident and revert. But, it is over two months now, he is yet to respond to the inquiry.
Police had earlier said that banks hardly cooperate on such issue, “We have to use force to get the little information we got and we are still pressing them hard for more information despite their slippery nature”, a cop familiar with the case told our correspondent.

Otunba Subomi Balogun is the founder of FCMB, while his son, Ladi, is the managing director.