Updated: February 26, 2021
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The Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday fined four banks $16 million or 5.8 billion naira for massive forgery, fraud and illegal Forex exportation. CBN also said telecommunication giant M.T.N has been ordered to refund $8 billion to the apex bank for fraud and high class deceit.
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Stanbic IBTC Nigeria was fined $4.9 million or 1.8 billion naira, Citibank Nigeria was fined $3.3 million or 1.2 billion naira, Standard Chartered Bank was fined $6.6 million or 2.4 billion naira, and Diamond Bank was directed to pay $691k or 250 million naira for violating extant rules.
Isaac Okoroafor, CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, announced the fines in a statement.
Okoroafor said the fine became necessary following allegations of “remittance of foreign exchange with irregular certificates of capital importation issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and subsequent investigations carried out by the apex bank in March 2018”.
Okoroafor said investigations revealed that the sum of $3,448,119,321.72 was repatriated by Standard Chartered Bank on the basis of the illegally issued CCIs, while the sums of $2,632,005,623.78, $1,766,263,212.75 and $348,914,501.30 were repatriated by Stanbic IBTC Nigeria, Citibank Nigeria and Diamond Bank Plc, between 2007 and 2015, respectively.
He said investigations revealed that the sum of $3,448,119,321.72 was repatriated by Standard Chartered Bank on the basis of the illegally issued CCIs. Similarly, he said the sums of $2,632,005,623.78, $1,766,263,212.75 and $348,914,501.30 were repatriated by Stanbic IBTC Nigeria, Citibank Nigeria and Diamond Bank Plc, respectively during the period 2007 and 2015.
CBN has therefore directed the affected banks to immediately refund the respective sums to the CBN.
- Here is the summary again.
- Stanbic IBTC Nigeria fined $4.9 million or 1.8 billion naira
- Citibank Nigeria fined $3.3 million or 1.2 billion naira
- Standard Chartered Bank fined $6.6 million or 2.4 billion naira
- Diamond Bank to pay $691k or 250 million naira
- MTN to refund 8 billion dollars
Okoroafor said CBN investigation further revealed that on account of illegal conversion of MTN shareholders’ loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated by the company.
This is Today News Africa breaking news that would be updated and expanded.
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