One of Nigeria’s leading banks, Ecobank is currently swimming in a monumental fraud, which figure was put at N800M.
Sources revealed that the bank, led by Patrick Akinwuntan is battling hard to save itself from what many said could lead to the opening of several cans of worm.
The bank is alleged to be trying to put its house in order as its name and staffers had been mentioned in several controversies.
It was gathered that Ecobank Nigeria, a key subsidiary of the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) and its management are currently being investigated by Nigeria’s banking regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following several financial scandals by the bank and its staffers.
One of Nigeria’s leading banks, Ecobank is currently swimming in a monumental fraud, which figure was put at N800M.
Sources revealed that the bank, led by Patrick Akinwuntan is battling hard to save itself from what many said could lead to the opening of several cans of worm.
The bank is alleged to be trying to put its house in order as its name and staffers had been mentioned in several controversies.
It was gathered that Ecobank Nigeria, a key subsidiary of the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) and its management are currently being investigated by Nigeria’s banking regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following several financial scandals by the bank and its staffers.
Insiders in the bank revealed that Akinwuntan might be removed soon “for his incompetence to pave way for a new lease of life for the commercial bank.”
It was gathered that top on the list of financial controversies which have bedevilled the bank is an alleged fraud running into N800 or above against the Nasarawa State Government.
This was allegedly discovered following the engagement of a forensic accounting consultancy firm based in Lagos by the Nasarawa State Board of Internal Revenue to assist in the improvement of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of excess bank charges, high network individuals, withholding tax on dividends, interest, and deposits against banks operating in the state from 29th May 1999.
Investigations had reportedly revealed that the Akinwuntan-led Ecobank Nigeria Limited brazenly defrauded the Nasarawa State government of a sum of over N800 million in unremitted tax and 10 per cent withholding tax on credit interest monies.
Sources further alleged that apart from being a haven for fraudulent officials, the commercial bank is also grappling with many other crises that tend to threaten its survival.
One of them was said to be its alleged poor services, which we were told were obvious to its customers.
Most of its branches were said to be awash with complaints of unsatisfied customers, who planned to close their accounts due to long hours they experience to get services from Ecobank staff.
“When Akinwuntan was appointed in 2018 as the Managing Director of the bank, the board of the bank gave him a mandate to deliver the brand promise of the bank as the platform of choice for convenient, affordable and instant banking services to customers in Nigeria, but today, the reverse is the case,” a source revealed.
Efforts made to get the side of the top management of the bank on the matter did not yield the positive result before we went to press.
