How Emefiele Used Proxies To ‘Buy’ Union, Keystone Banks
A report by Jim Obazee, the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu, has exposed the shady deals of Godwin Emefiele, the sacked governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the late Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, an ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari, in the acquisition of four Nigerian banks.
The report, which was submitted to President Tinubu on December 20, 2023, and obtained by PRISTINEGIST on Saturday, showed that Emefiele and Funtua used proxies and fraudulent means to purchase Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN), Keystone Bank, Polaris Bank, and Heritage Bank, without paying the full amount or following due process.
According to the report, Emefiele set up Titan Trust Bank (TTB) as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to acquire UBN, one of the first generation financial institutions in Nigeria, in four phases. The acquisition was funded by a combination of debt and equity from two Dubai-based companies, Luxis International DMCC and Magna International DMCC, which were later discovered to be owned by Emefiele.
The report stated that TTB paid the purchase consideration to the selling shareholders of UBN on June 1, 2022, and completed the acquisition of 93.4 per cent of the issued shares of the bank. However, the report revealed that some persons were used as proxies by Emefiele to set up TTB and acquire UBN, all from ill-gotten wealth.
The report also stated that Funtua, who died in July 2020, was involved in the acquisition of Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank, with the connivance and assistance of Emefiele and the CBN. The report alleged that Funtua’s group obtained a loan of N25 billion from Heritage Bank, which was backed by the placement of N20 billion by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the same bank.
The report stated that Funtua’s group failed to repay the loan when it matured, and Heritage Bank threatened to take over Keystone Bank based on the shares they had pledged as security. The report stated that Keystone Bank created internal loans of about N50 billion between June and October 2019 and moved the proceeds to repay Heritage Bank on behalf of Funtua’s group. The report stated that the internal loans were not being serviced and had gone bad.
The report stated that the special investigator had commenced the interrogation of the MD of AMCON to clarify the situation of the acquisition of Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank, as well as the financial reporting by AMCON. The report stated that the investigator would continue the interrogation of the AMCON MD yesterday, December 22, 2023; and based on preliminary report, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank were acquired for free.
The report stated that the investigator had also held meetings with relevant parties except for Mr Cornelius Vink, who was hospitalised in Switzerland. The report stated that the investigator was on the verge of recovering the four banks for the federal government.
The officials of UBN, Keystone Bank, Polaris Bank, and Heritage Bank have been contacted for their comments on the report, but they did not respond to our enquiries.
