AkINGBOLA OFFER TO REFUND N2.25BBN TO INTERCONTINENTAL BANK: As part of moves to secure plea bargaining, the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Intercontinental Bank Plc…

Posted by admin NNP Spotlight Friday, April 22nd, 2011

As part of moves to secure plea bargaining, the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, has sought approval to refund £9m (N2.25bn at the official exchange rate of N250 to £1 as at Thursday) in part payment to the bank.

Our correspondent authoritatively gathered on Wednesday that Akingbola, through his lawyer, had written to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, on February 25, 2011, seeking his consent to the plan.

Competent sources in Abuja, told our correspondent that Adoke had given his approval to the request.

Apart from Adoke, the current Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Mahmud Lai Alabi, was said to have agreed to Akingbola’s proposal as way of shoring up the bank’s capital base.

It was learnt that the planned £9m refund would be drawn from Akingbola’s account in Guernsey, earlier frozen by that country’s Financial Intelligence Service.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.

Akingbola was removed from office in July 2009 by the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, along with four other ex-chief executives of banks for granting unsecured loans amounting to about N747bn and for abusing their positions.

A source at the CBN said the apex bank’s leadership was not disposed to Akingbola’s request, especially as it was inimical to the case in court against him.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arraigned him on August 13, 2010, on a 22-count charge that included granting reckless credit facilities, abuse of financial regulations and mismanagement of depositors’ funds running into billions of naira.

Besides, he was accused by the EFCC of creating false or misleading appearance of active trading in the shares of his former bank on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Akingbola, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

When first contacted, a female voice told our correspondent that the Head, Corporate Affairs, CBN, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi, was in a meeting and was not available for comments.

Abdullahi later told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday that the apex bank was not aware of the proposal by Akingbola.

Also, the Head of Media and Publicity, EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, declined comments, saying, “I have no information on that.”

Following his sacking by the CBN, Akingbola had fled the country and took up residence in the United Kingdom. He, however, returned to Nigeria on August 3, 2010, and surrendered to the EFCC the following day.

While still in exile, a London High Court had on January 25, 2010, granted a worldwide mareva injunction against the assets of Akingbola, his wife and nominees in the sum of £83m.

The injunction granted by Hon. Justice Blair of the High Court of Justice in London was based on claim No. 2009, Folio 1680, filed by Intercontinental Bank, and is an extension of an earlier order granted on December 23, 2009 for the sum of £11m.

A Federal High Court in Lagos had on December 31, 2009, frozen N346bn and £11m allegedly belonging to the former bank chief in six Nigerian and UK banks.

Justice Tijani Abubakar had also placed an interim forfeiture order on his alleged assets and choice properties in Lagos, the United Kingdom, Dubai and Accra, Ghana.

The judge also granted the application of the EFCC for a mareva injunction to temporarily freeze Akingbola‘s assets all over the world.

But the judge granted a reprieve to the embattled former bank MD saying that he should be allowed access to N1.4m per month as living expenses and retention of legal advisers, being equivalent to his lost take-home pay as the CEO of the bank.

The judge also ordered that the interim order would be in force, pending the trial of the ex-bank chief.

The agency also alleged that Akingbola and his associates were trying to remove assets from Nigeria, adding that he had attempted to move N2bn out of the country after he was declared wanted.

-Punchwp_posts