CBN: DSS to quiz bank CEOs over FX allocations since 2017
The Department of State Services (DSS) has opened wide-ranging investigations into foreign exchange received and their subsequent allocation to customers by each deposit money bank in the country and the involvement of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The investigation comes at a time of increasing searchlight on the governor of the apex bank Godwin Emefiele who continues to be overseas after reports that he will be arrested by the secret police in connection with allegations of funding terrorism.
According to our reporters, the bank CEOs have been given a deadline of Wednesday January 18, 2023, to provide detail information about the privileged individuals and companies that have been given foreign exchange allocations since 2017.
Specifically, the CEOs are to provide a schedule of the I & E forex allocated to the individual banks from 2017 to date. The said schedule should be broken down into amount allocated to the bank, the name of the individual customer and/or beneficiary/beneficiaries and the basis/criteria for the allocation.
The bank CEOs must also say who authorized and who carried out the allocation whether it is the CBN and/or the deposit money bank itself.
They are also to provide a summary of the TOP 50 customers who received the most FX allocation, in order of magnitude.
An earlier request for reporting had been sent by the investigators but the latest is said to supersede the previous communication on the matter.
Emefiele who has been away from his office since December will be confronted by allegations against him and then be told he must resign.
Our reporter learnt that the governor would return to the country because he has assurances that he will not be arrested on arrival.
Emefiele has been at the receiving end of attacks for years over his unorthodox monetary policies and his blamed for the virtual ruin of the local currency.
Emefiele’s troubles expanded after his shocking decision to join the presidential race while still holding office.
His participation in partisan politics moved from just mere rumours after he went to a Federal High court in Abuja to compel the Attorney General of the federal and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC not to disqualify him from contesting the presidential primaries. On May 9, 2022, the court threw out the case.
On December 27, 2022, it emerged that the DSS had been in court via an ex parte application marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 and in which the secret police sought an order to arrest the CBN governor over alleged acts of financing terrorism and economic crimes of national security.
But the Chief judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, in a ruling delivered on December 9, rejected the application.
