EFCC arrests Fidelity Bank MD for receiving Diezani’s $115m

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc,
Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, and some officials for allegedly receiving
$115m from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani
Alison-Madueke.

The EFCC also arrested the bank’s Head of Operations, Mr.
Martins Izuogbe, for his role in the alleged scam, which the anti-
graft agency described as unprecedented.
A reliable source in the commission on Wednesday told our
correspondent on condition of anonymity that during the build-up
to the 2015 presidential election, Diezani invited Okonkwo to help
her handle some cash, which would be disbursed to electoral
officials and groups.
The source disclosed that the fraud was uncovered when the
EFCC began investigations into how officials of the Independent
National Electoral Commission in Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom
states received N675.1m.

The detective said, “The MD of Fidelity Bank has been arrested
and is currently in our custody. During investigations into the INEC
Resident Electoral Commissioners, we got a major breakthrough
as funds disbursed were traced to Fidelity Bank.
“We invited the MD, who then confessed to us that during the
build-up to the presidential election, Diezani invited him to a
meeting in Abuja. Diezani told him that some companies would
deposit some funds in his bank and that she would give him
further instructions on how the funds would be disbursed.
“The first company, Auctus Integrated, deposited $17,884,000
into the bank. The second company, Northern Belt Gas Company,
deposited $60m while another company, Midwestern Oil and Gas,
deposited $9.5m. A fourth company, Leno Laitan Adesanya,
deposited $1.85m while the MD himself received $26m in cash.”
The source alleged that Diezani’s son, Ugonna Madueke, later
served as a middleman between the former minister and the MD
of the bank.

He said it was Diezani’s son who forwarded the names of the
beneficiaries of the funds, which included INEC officials and
several interest groups as well as election monitors, who were
expected to compromise the electoral process.
He said, “The MD said it was Diezani’s son that sent him a list of
beneficiaries which included several INEC officials and election
monitors across the 36 states. Diezani specifically instructed that
the funds be disbursed at least a day or two before the elections.
The total amount of money was $115m and Diezani told the bank
to convert the funds into naira, which was about N23.3bn at the
time.

“However, the suspects told us that the volume of money was
too big and they had problems converting the funds. So, Diezani
told the bank MD to use the bank’s funds and hold on to the
dollars as collateral and that after elections, the bank could use
the dollars to replace the bank funds.”
The source stated that Diezani did not operate any account with
the bank and wondered why Okonkwo would allow himself to be
used in such a manner.

“He may be charged with conspiracy once we are done with
investigations,” the source said. The PUNCH had reported that a
wristwatch worth £600,000 was seized from Diezani during a raid
on one of her houses.
The ex-minister, who is currently battling cancer, was last year
arrested by the National Crimes Agency in the United Kingdom for
sundry allegations.
Under her watch as one of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
most powerful ministers, dubious oil marketers stole trillions of
naira of oil subsidy money.

The then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi (now the Emir of Kano), alleged that $20bn was missing
from the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
an allegation which led to his suspension and replacement.
She had, however, denied all allegations of corruption levelled
against her. The family lawyer, Oscar Onwudiwe, who had, in a
statement, denied allegations against the former minister, said,
“The Madueke family, like most other families, has its own
challenges. For instance, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has been
receiving treatment for cancer in the UK.”
All attempts to speak with the spokesperson for Fidelity Bank,
Mr. Ejike Ndiulo, proved abortive as his telephone indicated that it
was switched off.

However, a senior official of the bank, who spoke with our
correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the bank would
issue a statement on Thursday (today).
“We don’t have all the facts of the case yet. However, we will
issue a statement on the matter on Thursday,” he said.


Copyright PUNCH.