The Executive Chairman  of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has  disclosed that the Commission, in a landmark raid,  arrested 792 suspects  for their alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scam.

The  suspects were apprehended on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, in a surprise operation at their hideout, an imposing seven-storey edifice known as Big Leaf Building, on No.7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos , following verifiable intelligence received by the Commission.

Speaking during a media briefing on Monday, December 16, 2024,   at the Lagos  Zonal Directorate of the Commission, Olukoyede stated that  148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani, one Indonesian were arrested during the operation.

The EFCC’s boss,  who spoke though the Director, Public Affairs, EFCC, Commander of the EFCC,  CEWilson Uwujaren, further stated that the  foreign nationals used the facility, which could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters of a financial establishment, to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also used the identities of their Nigerian accomplices to perpetrate their criminal activities.

According to him, “All the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators recovered 500 SIM cards of local telcos that were bought for criminal purposes.

“ Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and several others from European countries.

“They usually arm them with desktop computers and mobile devices and create fake profiles for them.

“The Nigerian accomplices are equally provided with logs that allow them access to foreign communication lines and victims, which they chat with on WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram.”

While giving  further details about the modus operandi of the syndicate, the EFCC Chair said the Nigerian accomplices, who are assigned WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy, engage victims in romantic conversations as well as phantom business and investment discussions to trick them to shop on the purported online investment shopping platform called www.yooto.com.

He added: “For those who show interest, activation fees for an account on the platform starts from $35USD.

“Investigation revealed that the criterion for recruiting these young Nigerians is proficiency in the use of computers, especially typing skill. Those who passed the test are given desktop computers and mobile devices and then taken through a two-week induction on how to personate foreign females in romance scam chats and convince victims to invest in their employers’ cryptocurrency investment scam.

“Once the Nigerians are able to win the confidence of would-be victims, the foreigners would take over the actual task of defrauding the victims and proceed to block their Nigerian accomplices from the network. This would then leave them in the dark about the transaction.”

He, however, said the Nigerians involved in the alleged fraudulent activities “do not know the owners of the ‘company’ they work for because they are not offered letters of appointments or receive payment from a corporate account.”

According to him, the  suspected Nigerian accomplices are usually paid either in cash or through an individual’s account.

Olukoyede said the Commission was working with its foregoing partners to establish the extent of the scam and the accomplices as well as the likelihood of any collaboration with organized international fraud cells.

The EFCC Chair also used the occasion to debunk the notion that Nigerians are behind the tonnes of frauds emanating from the country.

“Foreigners are taking advantage of our nation’s unfortunate reputation as a haven of frauds to establish a foothold here to disguise their atrocious criminal enterprises. But, as this operation has shown, there will be no hiding places for criminals in Nigeria,”he said.

Also speaking during the occasion , the acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Commission, Michael Wetkas, sought greater collaboration with the media in the fight against  corruption and economic and financial crimes.

Items recovered from the suspects include desktop computers, mobile phones, laptop computers and cars at the point of arrest.

The suspects will be charged to court after investigations are concluded.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to disclose details of the nation’s external reserves, valued at $40.23 billion, in its 2021 financial year report, as stated in the latest findings from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

The 2021 audit report, released in December 2024, further exposed violations of internal policies on dollar time deposits by the CBN under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele, whose tenure as CBN governor ended in June 2023, is currently facing charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The EFCC accuses him of obtaining $6.2 million under false pretenses, using a forged letter purportedly from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation dated January 26, 2023.

The letter allegedly requested a contingent logistics advance from the CBN, which Emefiele falsely claimed was authorized by the president.

The audit also scrutinized the CBN’s adherence to its revised Investment Policy, raising additional concerns about financial management during the period under review.

“For the year 2021 financial year, the Bank failed to publish the position amounting to US$40,230,803,228.80 of the country’s external reserves to the public,” the report stated.

The report further noted that there was no waiver or new policy introduced during the period that could explain the non-disclosure of the external reserves.

It attributed the failure to weaknesses in the internal control systems at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The report also pointed out that this lack of transparency violated Article 15(v) of the CBN’s revised Investment Policy, which mandates the Bank to define the content, form, and frequency of reports on external reserves to ensure transparency.

The Auditor General expressed concerns about the significant risks associated with this breach, including a lack of accountability, diminished transparency, and potential harm to Nigeria’s economic credibility.

The report cautioned that foreign investors are not sufficiently informed about the country’s economic status, which could undermine investor confidence.

In response to the audit query, the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated that “information on the external reserves position is available to members of the public on the Bank’s website under the Reserve Management tab.”

The report also mentioned that the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which convenes every two months, provides updates on the reserves.

However, the Auditor General’s assessment concluded that the bank’s response did not effectively address the fundamental issue at hand.

“The response from the Management failed to address the issue raised,” the report said, maintaining that its findings remain valid.

The Auditor General’s report recommended that the CBN governor be summoned before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees to explain the failure to publish the reserves.

It also called for potential sanctions under the Financial Regulations Act of 2009, citing serious misconduct.

Additionally, the report suggested that “sanctions relating to gross misconduct prescribed in paragraph 3129 of the Financial Regulations 2009, should apply.”

The audit also uncovered a violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Money Market Policy, in addition to the non-publication of reserves figures. It revealed that a $26.05 million dollar time deposit exceeded the mandated maximum maturity period of three months, rolling over for five months without the required waivers.

This deposit, made on October 21, 2021, matured on March 21, 2022, in direct contravention of internal policies designed to manage liquidity and credit risks.

The Auditor-General attributed this breach to weaknesses in the CBN’s internal control systems.

In its defense, the central bank argued that its policies allow for extensions of up to one year for specific transactions, asserting that the dollar deposit was in compliance with these provisions.

However, the Auditor-General rejected this explanation, pointing to insufficient evidence to support the bank’s claims.

The report recommended that the CBN governor appear before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to justify both the failure to publish reserves and the extension of the dollar deposit’s maturity.

Additionally, it called for sanctions against the CBN under the Financial Regulations Act of 2009 for gross misconduct.

“The CBN Governor should be requested to: Furnish the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly with the evidence of approval to extend the maximum maturity period of US$26,051,039.29 deposit of the CBN for five months instead of three months, and Otherwise, sanctions relating to gross misconduct prescribed in paragraph 3129 of the Financial Regulations 2009, should apply,” it said.

The Street Journal!

Zenith Bank Plc has expanded its global footprints with the opening of Zenith Bank (UK), Paris branch. The official commissioning, which took place on Wednesday, 27 November, 2024 at 21 Rue de la paix, Paris, France, was performed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.

The opening of Zenith Bank, Paris, a Third-Country Branch (TCB) of Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc, represents a key milestone in the bank’s global growth strategy and underscores its commitment to serving clients in the European region.

Dignitaries at the ceremony include the Governor of Kwara State who is also Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. Other governors present were Babajide Sanwo-olu of Lagos State, Adedapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Peter Mbah (Enugu).

Other dignitaries in attendance included the Chairman, BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu; Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite; Chief Executive Officer/Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi and Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Nonye Ayeni. They all joined Zenith Bank executives in celebrating the significant milestone. The event highlighted the bank’s commitment to delivering exceptional financial solutions and fostering economic growth across the globe.

In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, Adaora Umeoji, thanked the Founder & Chairman of the bank, Jim ovia, for his inspiration and vision in setting up an award-winning and record-breaking brand. She also highlighted the rationale for the bank’s strategic move to Paris.

According to her, “The opening of this Paris branch is part of the broad strategy of the Bank to extend its footprints across the major global financial centres and our efforts at following our customers’ businesses.

“Paris branch opening underpins the need to serve our customers and bolster trade and finance relationship between our customers in France and other countries. Zenith Bank’s expansion into France is a very strategic move as Nigeria accounts for 20% of France’s trade with Sub-saharan Africa according to the Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

“Having successfully dominated large parts of Anglophone Africa, we will leverage Zenith Bank Paris operations to lead the Francophone market starting from Ivory Coast and Cameroun where we will be establishing subsidiaries very soon. This will facilitate business and trade flows between the African region and France, which is a major business partner to several African countries.”

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Edun, said, “I feel that one of the dividends of building trust for Nigerian institutions around the world is this event today, the opening of Zenith Bank in Paris. The presence of Zenith here can only but help to engender trust of the French business community. They can learn about the opportunities in Africa, and of course, the entry into Nigeria can be facilitatedWe are happy and we are glad that we are all here to participate in this historic occasion.”

President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, congratulated the bank for the milestone achievement. Expressing his optimism for this strategic initiative, he said, “I really want to congratulate Zenith Bank for achieving this feat by opening a branch here in Paris. I can guarantee you, without the likes of Zenith Bank and other Nigerian banks, we as a group, wouldn’t have been where we are today because there is no country that can grow without a very strong banking sector.”

Director General of the Treasury, France, Bertrand Dumont, commented, “This is a crucial asset when it comes to doing business between our two countries, or when it comes to doing business between our two continents. So, I would like to wish you the best in this endeavor, in this creation, and I hope that in the coming months or the coming year, you will invite me again for the integration of larger buildings as a sign of the success that you would have encountered.”

The Chairman, France-Nigeria Business Council (FNBC), Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, in his remark said, “15 years ago, Dr Jim Ovia, then as the CEO of Zenith Bank welcomed me as CEO Access Bank into the UK to join him and other banks that had blazed the trail in opening banking businesses in the UK. 15 years later, to the glory of God, your young brother in banking welcomes you to Paris with pride on the significance of this occasion. Such intentional leadership, such partnership and collaboration speaks to the nature of endeavor that we at the France-Nigeria Business Council are trying to drive. So, on behalf of the French people, I simply say to Zenith – Bonne Arrivee!”

The opening of Zenith Bank, Paris followed the granting of the final approval by France’s banking regulator, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), in September 2024, allowing the branch to commence operations. Earlier in November 2023, Zenith Bank strengthened ties with France by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Government to establish a subsidiary in France.

The MoU was signed in Lagos by the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, and the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Mr Olivier Becht during the French envoy’s visit to Nigeria.

Zenith Bank, Paris is positioned as a global financial hub for strengthening trade, accelerating trade flows and facilitating connectivity between Europe and Africa. The branch will provide a wide range of services currently being offered by the UK home-office including corporate banking, trade finance and treasury services to individuals and corporate clients in France and the wider European market. The branch will also leverage the bank’s strong global network and expertise to provide tailored solutions to its clients.