The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has initiated an investigation into alleged fraudulent foreign exchange allocations during the tenure of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Over 85 entities, including corporate organizations and individuals, have reportedly received letters from the EFCC, and senior officials of these entities have been summoned to provide detailed documents covering foreign exchange transactions from the past nine years.
The ongoing probe is said to be comprehensive, deep, and independent of a special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Jim Obazee, to investigate the CBN. The EFCC is reportedly considering fresh charges against Emefiele as a result of the ongoing investigation.
Dangote Industries, one of the entities under investigation, acknowledged the EFCC’s request for details of forex transactions allocated to the company by the CBN since 2014. In a statement, Dangote Industries claimed to have delivered the first batch of documents to the EFCC on January 4, 2024. The company expressed commitment to providing information to assist the EFCC with its ongoing investigation.
Before the raid, Dangote Industries had refuted allegations of forex malpractices and money laundering involving $3.4 billion, facilitated by Emefiele. The company denied accusations of round-tripping and illicit financial flows, stating that its investment undertakings were sourced from the interbank market with transactions supported by Letters of Credit.
The EFCC reportedly raided Dangote Industries’ offices, seizing financial documents related to forex allocations to the group from 2014 to June 2023. The commission has also requested 51 firms under investigation to submit Form A and Form M detailing forex allocations from 2014 to June 2023. The investigation aims to gather evidence and details on how government funds were allocated during the specified period.
