CBN: Emefiele operated 593 illegal U.S., UK, China accounts

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been discovered to have illegally lodged billions of naira in no fewer than 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China.

Emefiele was found to have operated the illegal accounts without the approval of the apex bank’s board of directors and the CBN Investment Committee.

The Special Investigator on the CBN and
Related Entities, Jim Obazee, made the disclosure in his final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences)’ and submitted to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

Tinubu had, in July 2023, named Obazee, the former Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, as the CBN Special Investigator.

He revealed that Emefiele kept £543,482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without authorisation.

READ ALSO: Emefiele, ex-minister, 14 others to face trial for N26.6trn CBN fraud

“The former governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele invested Nigeria’s money without authorization in 593 foreign bank accounts in United States, China and United Kingdom, while he was in charge.

“All the accounts where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator,” he stated.

His report further showed that Emefiele and those who worked with him could not produce evidence of ‘Ways and Means’, which now stands at N26.627trillion.

Emefiele, who is currently in Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja, is being prosecuted for N1.2 billion procurement fraud.

He has not been able to perfect the N300 million bail granted him by an FCT High Court on November 22.

The Star