The uncertainty on the whereabouts of some of the sacked former bank chiefs deepened yesterday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared two of them - Cecilia Ibru, former managing director, Oceanic International Bank plc and Erastus Akingbola, former CEO of Intercontinental Bank plc - wanted.
They are wanted for varied offences believed to have led to the critical situations of their banks.
The two were sacked just over a week ago by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its post consolidation reform of the banking sector. The commission had in the wake of their sack asked them to submit themselves to it or risk being declared wanted.
EFCC’s action is coming just as Jimoh Ibrahim, owner of Global Fleet, and one of those on the debtors’ list promised to pay back the N8 billion owed Oceanic Bank today, Monday.
Ibrahim who contested the N14.7 billion listed against his name by the CBN, however, said he was owing only N8 billion as at May 2009 having been servicing the facility.
According to the anti-graft agency in a statement released on Sunday, “the two former bank executives are wanted in connection with fraudulent abuse of credit process, insider trading, capital market manipulation and money laundering running into billions of naira.”
Farida Waziri, chairman of the EFCC, according to the statement, directed that the two former bank executives be declared wanted at the weekend following their failure to honour the commission’s invitation.
“Apart from failing to honour the commission’s invitation, intensive search for the two executives in the last one week has not been successful. They obviously went into hiding to evade arrest.
“This development has made it imperative for the commission to solicit for useful information from Nigerians who know their whereabouts.
“In the same vein, it is necessary to warn that anybody who harbours the two former bank executives will be treated as an accomplice or accessory to crime,” the statement added.
Jimoh Ibrahim promised to offset the facility in both foreign and local currencies to a total sum of N8 billion at the corporate headquarters of Oceanic Bank in Lagos on Monday, August 24, 2009. His decision to make the payment was part of the agreement reached at the end of a meeting of the management of his companies in Lagos.
Ibrahim who is also the group chief executive of the NICON Group of Companies, whose subsidiaries include hotels, insurance firms and properties had threatened to go to court if CBN failed to retract the publication where he was said to be owing Oceanic Bank N14.782 billion but which he claimed was only N8 billion and that the loan was performing.
He said he had no ill-feeling against the Central Bank but for its haste to release the publication which, he said, contained some errors. He said no serious business would survive without loans, but that such loans must be regularly serviced by the debtors to sustain its credibility among competitors.
He said as an international business man he had to offset the indebtedness of his companies based on the figures presented to him by his bank.
Reacting to the declaration of the former bank CEOs wanted, Mark Ogbamosa, spokesman to Akingbola, said EFCC’s action negates the principle of rule of law. “Nobody is saying that nothing could have gone wrong but the situation now is that we are putting the cart before the horse”, Ogbamosa said.
Beside declaring him wanted without being formally charged, Ogbamosa said EFCC operatives went to Akingbola’s office alone without Akingbola’s or his lawyers’ presence. “The question we are asking is why should they break into his office? What did they take into the office and what did they take out of the office? To us, this is contrary to the so called rule of law that the president talks about” he said.
Meanwhile, Michael Aondoakaa, attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, has endorsed the steps taken so far by CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, to sanitise the banking sector.
In a press statement signed by his media assistant, Onov Tyuulugh, the AGF praised Sanusi’s patriotism and courage and called on all Nigerians to support the apex bank in the new effort to reposition the nation’s banks.
EFCC cracks down on corporate tax evaders, shuts airline
Monday, 24 August 2009 01:27
Wale Haastrup
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has in the past week recovered billions of naira and arrested a numbere of top officials of firms operating in the aviation industry for alleged corporate tax evasion.
Already, some top officials of firms have been arrested and are co-operating with the EFCC on how to effect payments, which a source at the anti-graft agency says runs into billions of naira.
An airline, Wings Aviation, was shut down by EFCC on Friday and its top officials were also picked up to explain why the firm’s tax returns were not up to date.
Femi Babafemi, spokesman for the EFCC, confirmed to Business Day the closure of the airline but would not say whether arrests were made.
“We are in the aviation industry now, after we were through with the hotels, seeking for corporate tax evaders. Many people here pretend not to know that corporate tax evasion is a crime”.
According to him, “we have recovered billions of naira; unfortunately I do not have the actual figures to give you now. But our aim is to recover the money and prosecute the heads of the firms and agencies and use them to set examples that tax evasion is a crime”.
BusinessDay gathered that many top brass of the agencies, firms and airlines are now sourcing for funds to pay up, while others are consulting tax experts to explain their tax payment positions.
It was gathered that the EFCC was already inspecting books of all the agencies in a bid to stave off tax defaults.
Said a source: “They came here and inspected our books at the accounts and audit department. It’s like they know what they were looking for as they were asking for specifics”. Though, they were in the agencies for several days, our source said most of the books were in good order as the agency had nothing to say after their inspection.
Many aviation firms, particularly airlines have over the years formed the habit of not paying their taxes including charges collected on behalf of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
At a time earlier in the year, the airlines owed FAAN over N5 billion and the NCAA close to N500 million.
While FAAN contracted Maevis Nigeria Limited to help it collect its debts and charges, NCAA contracted the collection of its debts and charges to IATA. Domestic airlines had even dragged NAMA to court over payment of terminal navigational charges.
Meanwhile, airlines that have not been paying their staff salaries regularly may be forced to close shop, as the Federal Government considers such development inimical to flight safety.
This may have prompted EFCC’s investigations in the aviation industry, in order to ensure safety of lives and property.
“You know, by standard, once an airline is not paying its staff regularly, the staff would no longer be committed to their work, leading to lackadaisical attitude to a crucial issue as safety”, our source said.
It was gathered that as soon as the reports are finalized, the EFCC will swoop on the industry and just about four or five airlines may scale the hurdle.
It would be recalled that the director general of the NCAA at the start of the economic audit of airlines had declared that airlines found not able to guarantee safe operations would be advised to close shop.
According to the NCAA boss, “the main thrust of this exercise is to ensure that the airlines have enough funds to carry out safe operations and if NCAA is convinced that an airline can no longer carry out safe operations, that airline will close shop.
“In this meltdown, we want to ensure that safety is not relegated, you must do your maintenance, train your crew and you must pay your bills. This is the economic audit we are talking about; we don’t want a situation where you don’t have enough funds to run a safe operation. If you don’t have this, you can’t be here and this audit has started about a week ago and it is going to be an ongoing exercise.”
In beaming its searchlight on airlines operating in the country, “we are looking at some issues like default in the payment of salaries, fuel, payment on insurance, a lot of bad debts”.
Demuren said it is possible to owe a fuel marketer, once the airline is credit worthy, but once the airline stops servicing debts, then there is problem.
“For instance, if you buy a N200 million worth of fuel everyday, you cannot pay that everyday, you already have a credit line with the marketer. If you are credit worthy, you can owe but if you don’t service your credit, you don’t pay your debts, it shows that you are not credit worthy”.
However, according to the NCAA boss, insurance, is a no go area as airlines must be up to date with their premium or they would not be allowed to carry passengers. “We have learnt our lessons from what had happened in the recent past.”
He said another area of concentration would be how much airlines are owing the various agencies such as landing and parking charges, rent and navigational charges to NAMA for those doing international operations, charges to NCAA, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo) plc and the Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL).
“If any airline is owing in all these categories, it shows something is wrong, you can owe but you must be credit worthy. We are watching these very carefully and the oversight team is already looking at this. Let me say what is the most important, we must ensure that safety is not jeopardized because if safety is jeopardized, the industry is gone”, he said.
Demuren stated that the concept is about safety and safety cannot be compromised or jeopardized, adding that at the initial stage, what was promised was that safety is number one and the goal has not changedEFCC declares Ibru, Akingbola wanted
Monday, 24 August 2009 01:25
ISAAC AREGBESOLA
Nigeria Business Day
The uncertainty on the whereabouts of some of the sacked former bank chiefs deepened yesterday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared two of them - Cecilia Ibru, former managing director, Oceanic International Bank plc and Erastus Akingbola, former CEO of Intercontinental Bank plc - wanted.
They are wanted for varied offences believed to have led to the critical situations of their banks.
The two were sacked just over a week ago by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its post consolidation reform of the banking sector. The commission had in the wake of their sack asked them to submit themselves to it or risk being declared wanted.
EFCC’s action is coming just as Jimoh Ibrahim, owner of Global Fleet, and one of those on the debtors’ list promised to pay back the N8 billion owed Oceanic Bank today, Monday.
Ibrahim who contested the N14.7 billion listed against his name by the CBN, however, said he was owing only N8 billion as at May 2009 having been servicing the facility.
According to the anti-graft agency in a statement released on Sunday, “the two former bank executives are wanted in connection with fraudulent abuse of credit process, insider trading, capital market manipulation and money laundering running into billions of naira.”
Farida Waziri, chairman of the EFCC, according to the statement, directed that the two former bank executives be declared wanted at the weekend following their failure to honour the commission’s invitation.
“Apart from failing to honour the commission’s invitation, intensive search for the two executives in the last one week has not been successful. They obviously went into hiding to evade arrest.
“This development has made it imperative for the commission to solicit for useful information from Nigerians who know their whereabouts.
“In the same vein, it is necessary to warn that anybody who harbours the two former bank executives will be treated as an accomplice or accessory to crime,” the statement added.
Jimoh Ibrahim promised to offset the facility in both foreign and local currencies to a total sum of N8 billion at the corporate headquarters of Oceanic Bank in Lagos on Monday, August 24, 2009. His decision to make the payment was part of the agreement reached at the end of a meeting of the management of his companies in Lagos.
Ibrahim who is also the group chief executive of the NICON Group of Companies, whose subsidiaries include hotels, insurance firms and properties had threatened to go to court if CBN failed to retract the publication where he was said to be owing Oceanic Bank N14.782 billion but which he claimed was only N8 billion and that the loan was performing.
He said he had no ill-feeling against the Central Bank but for its haste to release the publication which, he said, contained some errors. He said no serious business would survive without loans, but that such loans must be regularly serviced by the debtors to sustain its credibility among competitors.
He said as an international business man he had to offset the indebtedness of his companies based on the figures presented to him by his bank.
Reacting to the declaration of the former bank CEOs wanted, Mark Ogbamosa, spokesman to Akingbola, said EFCC’s action negates the principle of rule of law. “Nobody is saying that nothing could have gone wrong but the situation now is that we are putting the cart before the horse”, Ogbamosa said.
Beside declaring him wanted without being formally charged, Ogbamosa said EFCC operatives went to Akingbola’s office alone without Akingbola’s or his lawyers’ presence. “The question we are asking is why should they break into his office? What did they take into the office and what did they take out of the office? To us, this is contrary to the so called rule of law that the president talks about” he said.
Meanwhile, Michael Aondoakaa, attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, has endorsed the steps taken so far by CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, to sanitise the banking sector.
In a press statement signed by his media assistant, Onov Tyuulugh, the AGF praised Sanusi’s patriotism and courage and called on all Nigerians to support the apex bank in the new effort to reposition the nation’s banks.
EFCC cracks down on corporate tax evaders, shuts airline
Monday, 24 August 2009 01:27
Wale Haastrup
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has in the past week recovered billions of naira and arrested a numbere of top officials of firms operating in the aviation industry for alleged corporate tax evasion.
Already, some top officials of firms have been arrested and are co-operating with the EFCC on how to effect payments, which a source at the anti-graft agency says runs into billions of naira.
An airline, Wings Aviation, was shut down by EFCC on Friday and its top officials were also picked up to explain why the firm’s tax returns were not up to date.
Femi Babafemi, spokesman for the EFCC, confirmed to Business Day the closure of the airline but would not say whether arrests were made.
“We are in the aviation industry now, after we were through with the hotels, seeking for corporate tax evaders. Many people here pretend not to know that corporate tax evasion is a crime”.
According to him, “we have recovered billions of naira; unfortunately I do not have the actual figures to give you now. But our aim is to recover the money and prosecute the heads of the firms and agencies and use them to set examples that tax evasion is a crime”.
BusinessDay gathered that many top brass of the agencies, firms and airlines are now sourcing for funds to pay up, while others are consulting tax experts to explain their tax payment positions.
It was gathered that the EFCC was already inspecting books of all the agencies in a bid to stave off tax defaults.
Said a source: “They came here and inspected our books at the accounts and audit department. It’s like they know what they were looking for as they were asking for specifics”. Though, they were in the agencies for several days, our source said most of the books were in good order as the agency had nothing to say after their inspection.
Many aviation firms, particularly airlines have over the years formed the habit of not paying their taxes including charges collected on behalf of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
At a time earlier in the year, the airlines owed FAAN over N5 billion and the NCAA close to N500 million.
While FAAN contracted Maevis Nigeria Limited to help it collect its debts and charges, NCAA contracted the collection of its debts and charges to IATA. Domestic airlines had even dragged NAMA to court over payment of terminal navigational charges.
Meanwhile, airlines that have not been paying their staff salaries regularly may be forced to close shop, as the Federal Government considers such development inimical to flight safety.
This may have prompted EFCC’s investigations in the aviation industry, in order to ensure safety of lives and property.
“You know, by standard, once an airline is not paying its staff regularly, the staff would no longer be committed to their work, leading to lackadaisical attitude to a crucial issue as safety”, our source said.
It was gathered that as soon as the reports are finalized, the EFCC will swoop on the industry and just about four or five airlines may scale the hurdle.
It would be recalled that the director general of the NCAA at the start of the economic audit of airlines had declared that airlines found not able to guarantee safe operations would be advised to close shop.
According to the NCAA boss, “the main thrust of this exercise is to ensure that the airlines have enough funds to carry out safe operations and if NCAA is convinced that an airline can no longer carry out safe operations, that airline will close shop.
“In this meltdown, we want to ensure that safety is not relegated, you must do your maintenance, train your crew and you must pay your bills. This is the economic audit we are talking about; we don’t want a situation where you don’t have enough funds to run a safe operation. If you don’t have this, you can’t be here and this audit has started about a week ago and it is going to be an ongoing exercise.”
In beaming its searchlight on airlines operating in the country, “we are looking at some issues like default in the payment of salaries, fuel, payment on insurance, a lot of bad debts”.
Demuren said it is possible to owe a fuel marketer, once the airline is credit worthy, but once the airline stops servicing debts, then there is problem.
“For instance, if you buy a N200 million worth of fuel everyday, you cannot pay that everyday, you already have a credit line with the marketer. If you are credit worthy, you can owe but if you don’t service your credit, you don’t pay your debts, it shows that you are not credit worthy”.
However, according to the NCAA boss, insurance, is a no go area as airlines must be up to date with their premium or they would not be allowed to carry passengers. “We have learnt our lessons from what had happened in the recent past.”
He said another area of concentration would be how much airlines are owing the various agencies such as landing and parking charges, rent and navigational charges to NAMA for those doing international operations, charges to NCAA, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo) plc and the Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL).
“If any airline is owing in all these categories, it shows something is wrong, you can owe but you must be credit worthy. We are watching these very carefully and the oversight team is already looking at this. Let me say what is the most important, we must ensure that safety is not jeopardized because if safety is jeopardized, the industry is gone”, he said.
Demuren stated that the concept is about safety and safety cannot be compromised or jeopardized, adding that at the initial stage, what was promised was that safety is number one and the goal has not changed
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