After a businessman managed to dupe the commercial bank the whopping amount, stakeholders in the sector are asking many questions, including how he managed to pull the fraud.
Are there some insiders involved in the now celebrated fraud, keen stakeholders in the banking sector are asking, considering the huge sums involved, and the fact that the lender has been facing financial problems, and was once rescued by the CBN from liquidation.
The questions come after the EFCC had reportedly quizzed some top management staff, including those close to the commercial bank’s Managing Director, Kayode Lawal, according to sources familiar with the story.
“There are ongoing probe in the bank by the commission to ensure that the fraud was not committed with ‘insider help’ sources informed the magazine on Wednesday.
The Economic and Financial crimes Commission, EFCC, had on Tuesday arraigned one Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere, the Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil and Gas Limited before Justice E.A Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for forging documents that enabled him to defraud the bank.
Since Nwaemere’s arraignment, some officials in the bank have become afraid thinking that they will be implicated in the ongoing case.
“Even though the main accused have been brought before a judge, the commission, has kept the file open as it has yet to ascertain the non-culpability of some officials in the bank,” another sources said.
The commission said in the 1o-count charge before Justice E.A Obile that the accused has committed forgery and obtiaing the said money under false pretence that he has been awarded a contract for the execution of dredging and stock-pilling of 100,00Om tones of sharp sand on the on-going Bodo-Bonny Road Project, which he knew to be false.
According to one of the charges: “That you, Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited and Osaogba Christian Izuchukwu (now at large), being the Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited, on or about the 17th of April, 2023 at Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained a total sum of Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N750,000, 000.00k) from Polaris Bank Limited, garrison Junction Branch, Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State via said Bank with Account Number: 4091160890 under the false pretence that you were awarded a contract for the execution of dredging and stock-pilling of 100,00Om tones of sharp sand on the on-going Bodo-Bonny Road Project, a pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Nwaemere was arrested based on the allegations made by a petitioner on some alleged illicit financial dealings bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money from his victim under false pretence running into millions.
Specifically, the petitioner alleged that the defendant, Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited, and his conspirator, (now at large), sometimes in April 2023, approached Polaris Bank Limited, Garrison Junction Branch, Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State for a loan for the execution of dredging and stock-pilling of 100,00O tonnes of sharp sand on the on-going Bodo-Bonny Road Project.
To obtain the loan, he allegedly forged a document titled “Pennydro-Pell Oil & Gas Invoice with No: 142 dated 29th of November, 2022”, purporting same to have been cleared by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc for payment of contract sum for a milestone completed by his company with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine.
Investigation revealed that the defendant allegedly convinced the bank and obtained a total sum of Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N750,000, 000.00k) but was later discovered that the loan proposal was false and all efforts by the victim to recover the said sum proved abortive.
Following his not-guilty plea before Justice Obile who heard the EFCC case, Nwaemere has been remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Center till June 21, 2025 when his bail application is expected to be heard by the judge.
The fraud has further put the commercial bank on the spot, after last year’s report that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was planning to withdraw its license due to some internal problems including alleged insolvency.
Recall that the CBN and the Asset Management Compnay, AMCON, had in October 2022 , as part of its plan to save the bank from liquidation sold the commercial bank to a company, Strategic Capital Investment Limited.
The bank says it’s strong enough, and not threatened by liquidation.
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