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From Fred Itua, Abuja
The ongoing probe into the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), took a new twist on Thursday, as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided offices of leading companies in Nigeria.
The latest development is connected to the alleged abuse of the foreign exchange regime operated by Emefiele when he held sway as CBN governor.
Emefiele, who is currently facing multiple charges in court, favoured some companies in the allocation of foreign currencies a situation that gravely affected the country’s exchange rates.
EFCC Spokesman, Dele Oyewale confirmed the incident but declined further comments on it.
It was gathered that operatives of the Commission raided the headquarters of the Dangote Group in Lagos.
Other leading companies were also raided, while more would be stung soon.
Operatives who raided the facility reportedly requested for documents detailing the allocation of foreign exchange to the conglomerate in the last ten years.
The operatives, it was learnt, spent hours scrutinising the documents, after which they were left with them.
A source in EFCC who does not want to be named, told Daily Sun that over 50 leading companies who benefitted from Emefiele’s foreign exchange regime, had been notified to provide necessary documents.
The forensic audit of the CBN under Emefiele uncovered 593 bank accounts domiciled in the United States, the United Kingdom and China in which Nigerian funds were deposited without authorisation from the board and investment committee of the apex bank.
The special investigator revealed that the sum of 543.4 million pounds was kept by Emefiele in fixed deposit accounts, adding that the ex-CBN chief manipulated the naira exchange rate and committed fraud in the e-Naira project.
“Emefiele operated a fraudulent foreign exchange regime. He masterminded the crash of the naira and favoured some persons in the allocation of foreign currencies.
Those who benefitted were companies that were already well-established.
“As part of a wider operation, the EFCC is going after those who benefitted illegally. We will look at their books and they’re found wanting, they will face the full wrath of the law.
“More companies that have refused to respond to our inquiries will be raided and their leaders will be arrested. This is not a witch-hunt. But whoever played a role will not go free,” a source told Daily Sun.
An Abuja based national newspaper said some staff at Dangote Group confirmed that EFFC agents were at the office earlier yesterday.
They, however, disclosed that the interaction was cordial as they provided the documents requested by the anti-graft agency.
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