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Soludo Not Arrested—Family Source
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soludo1

While it was awash in the media and also in the social networks hours ago that former CBN Governor, Charles Soludo was arrested this afternoon, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over an alleged connection in the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam – A close family source has come out to debunk the story - “To the best of my knowledge Soludo was not arrested, I also spoke with him about an hour ago.” – said a relative of the former Central Bank Governor.

Informed observers of the Abuja political sphere point to a pre-existing politically laced disparity between the Jonathan led administration and the former Central Bank Governor - as cause for the false alarm raised by the use of media to spread of false and image-tarnishing rumors of arrest of Prof Chukwuma C. Soludo. They view the newsbreak of Soludo’s arrest with suspicion.

Worth noting is – on occasions, Soludo has authored hard hitting analysis of the Nigerian socio-economic decay - some where published in the ThisDay Newspapers.

-

All efforts to contact Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson proved abortive as his phone was switched off.

Sahara misporters busted again? Anyways, we will soon know who is telling the truth

Soludo's text message to his brother, Olisa Metuh, PDP chieftain

Afam front page oh!!!

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Over printing of polymer currency notes *To be charged to court with other officials
ABUJA—Former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, was Thursday arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

He was picked up from his Abuja residence, a source in EFCC confirmed to Vanguard. There were strong indications last night that the ex-CBN Governor might be detained by the commission overnight.

Vanguard gathered that Soludo’s arrest was in connection with the controversial contract he awarded to an Australian firm for the printing of polymer currency notes while he was governor of the CBN between 2006 and 2008.

He is in our custody — EFCC source
EFCC source said: “We have Soludo in our custody and it is part of an ongoing investigation over his involvement in the award of contract and printing of polymer banknotes when he was the governor of the CBN.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/01/efcc-grills-soludo-ex-cbn-gov-others/

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday interrogated and detained the immediate past Governor of Central Bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo in Abuja.

Commission’s media unit confirmed his presence at the commission.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 2010 governorship election in Anambra State was reportedly invited by the commission over the alleged bribery case involving the printing of N5, N10, and N20 during his tenure at the bank.

A very top source within the commission told the Nigerian Tribune that Soludo honoured the commission’s invitation and was quizzed for several hours.

He was said to have arrived the commission’s office at about 2 pm and when the Nigerian Tribune called the media unit of the commission a few minutes to 7.00 p.m., he was reportedly still under interrogation.

When the top source was asked if he would be released on administrative bail yesterday night, our correspondent was told that “you can be rest assured that by the time your story is out tomorrow, he would still be here. So if you wrote that he was released on administrative bail last night, then you would be feeding the reading public with incorrect information.”

A media unit source further stated that “he was invited and he appeared today. He is still with us and we are together. He is undergoing interrogation. If you check the time now (6.41 p.m.), you can guess how long he has been with us because he came in the afternoon during the working hours.”

“We asked him to come and explain his roles in the activities surrounding the bribery allegations on the printing of those notes. The case for which he was invited is about the Australian currency mint company, Securency, that handled polymer banknotes and what transpired in the course of printing those notes.”

It was gathered that a couple of former and serving CBN officials were also being interrogated over the alleged bribery deal.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren was said to be in a crucial meeting.

A group, HEDA Resource Centre had petitioned the commission, demanding an investigation into the alleged currency scandal between 2006 and 2008.

The group’s chairman, Akaninyeme Enzina was invited by the commission on August 22, 2012 to defend the petition which was dated May 23, 2012.

HEDA’s petition had demanded the investigation and prosecution of serving and retired government officials indicted in the alleged scandal which stemmed from the printing of polymer Naira notes during the tenure of Professor Soludo at the Central Bank of Nigeria between 2006 and 2008.

The petition charged both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to undertake this investigation and prosecution as empowered by laws establishing both institutions.

The petition was predicated on the printing of the notes which were allegedly printed in Australia in a fraudulent deal, following which The Age, a local newspaper, reported that former workers at Securency, The Reserve Bank of Australia’s currency firm, had told the police the firm produced millions of partly made Nigerian bank notes without authorisation from the Nigerian authorities.

In effect, the former staff said that was counterfeiting. The newspaper reported that the Australian Federal Police had subsequently investigated Securency over alleged bribery of foreign officials, including Nigerian and Vietnamese officials, to win contracts in these countries.

HEDA’s petition, according to Mr. Suraju, drew attention to the fact that The Age reported that Securency paid some N750 million in bribes to some officials of the CBN between 2006 and 2008 in order to secure the contract to make polymer notes for Nigeria, channeling the bribes through Benoy Berry and Michael Harvey, two British businessmen.

HEDA chairman further claimed that ,“The petition reminded the anti corruption institutions of a publication of Sydney Herald that on September 29, 2009, a day before the launching of the N5, N10 and N20 polymer notes, Benoy Berry, one of the British businessmen sent a letter to Myles Curtis (then Managing Director of Securency International Pty Limited, an Australian company) alleging a breach of contract and accusing the bank note company of bribing top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to secure contract for Securency. He also accused Securency of breaching polymer-based mint planned to be established in Nigeria as part of principled objectives of transferring technology to developing nations.”

http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/2843-n750m-scam-efcc-detains-soludo

A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, was on Thursday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over his role in the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam which occurred between 2006 and 2008 when he was in office.

The PUNCH was informed by sources in the commission that Soludo arrived the EFCC Headquarters about 2pm from his Abuja residence and immediately faced a team of operatives who quizzed him for several hours to ascertain his level of complicity in the scandal.

It was learnt that the decision to look into the polymer deal was followed a petition by Human and Environmental Development Agenda.

According to the chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the group’s petition had demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of those involved in the alleged contract scam.

The petition had demanded that both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission pursue the investigation and prosecution as provided by laws establishing both anti-graft agencies.

Sources also indicated that other top management staff of CBN, who had worked with Soludo, were also picked and currently being held alongside other ex-staff of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company.

However, all efforts to get the identities of other detained suspects proved abortive, as no one was ready to volunteer information.

It was not clear whether the ex-CBN governor would be remanded at the EFCC detention as he was still being held as at 8pm on Thursday.

Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest, but could not be categorical on whether the embattled former 2010 Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Anambra State would be detained or not.

He said, “We have Soludo in our custody and it is part of an ongoing investigation over his involvement in the award of contract and printing of polymer banknotes when he was the Governor of the CBN.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/efcc-arrests-soludo-over-currency-contract-scam/

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and an aspirant in the 2010 governorship poll in Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

His arrest, according to a source at the EFCC office in Abuja, was in connection with the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam, which occurred between 2006 and 2008 when he held sway as CBN governor. Confirming his arrest, Head of Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren said Soludo was arrested yesterday morning, adding that he was in the custody of the commission.

“We have Soludo in our custody and it is part of an ongoing investigation over his involvement in the award of contract and printing of polymer banknotes when he was the governor of the CBN.” Operatives of the EFCC arrested Soludo at his Abuja residence. A source at the commission who confided in Daily Sun hinted that other senior CBN staffers who served during Soludo’s tenure were being detained as well as those from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.

The source declined to disclose the names of others currently being detained along with Soludo. A close source, however, told Daily Sun correspondent that 12 others were also in the commission’s custody.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/efcc-arrests-soludo/

It was further gathered that Soludo, alongside others involved in the scandal, might be arraigned as soon as ongoing investigations were concluded by the commission. “As soon as the commission concludes its ongoing investigations and we have enough evidence, Soludo and others will be charged to court,” the source hinted.

The commission’s spokesman however debunked insinuations that Soludo’s arrest was connected with any perceived political difference with the presidency over his unwavering support for former vice president Atiku Abubakar during the 2011 PDP presidential primaries. Investigations by the EFCC and Soludo’s arrest were sequel to a petition written by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in May 2012, calling on the commission to investigate contract scam in the award of polymer banknotes printing.

According to the Chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the petition had demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of serving and former government officials, particularly CBN staffers indicted in the scandal which resulted from the printing of polymer naira notes during the tenure of Prof. Soludo between 2006 and 2008.

The petition had requested both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to pursue the investigation and prosecution as provided by laws establishing both commissions. The current naira bills which were allegedly printed in Australia in a questionable deal, following which a local newspaper had reported that former workers at Securency, The Reserve Bank of Australia’s currency firm, had told the police the firm produced millions of partly made Nigerian banknotes without authorisation from the Nigerian authorities.

The newspaper report had noted that the Australian Federal Police had subsequently investigated Securency over alleged bribery of foreign officials, including Nigerian and Vietnamese officials, to win contracts in these countries. HEDA’s petition, according to Mr. Suraju, drew attention to the fact that the newspaper report that Securency paid N750 million in bribe to some officials of the CBN between 2006 and 2008 to secure the contract to make polymer notes for Nigeria, channelling the bribe through Benoy Berry and Michael Harvey, two British businessmen.

HEDA chairman said: “The petition reminded the anti corruption institutions of a publication of Sydney Herald that on September 29, 2009, a day before the launch of the N5, N10 and N15 polymer notes, Benoy Berry, one of the British businessmen sent a letter to Myles Curtis (then Managing Director of Securency International Pty Limited, an Australian company) alleging a breach of contract and accusing the bank note company of bribing top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to secure contract for Securency. “He also accused Securency of breaching polymer-based mint planned to be established in Nigeria as part of principled objectives of transferring technology to developing nations.”

He had added that the Australian Federal Police Authority sent a high level confidential security memo to the Presidency through the Office of the National Security Adviser detailing a bribery probe that centred on the series of multi million-dollar payments by Securency into offshore bank accounts of the two British-based businessmen for onward transfer to Nigerian government officials to secure the bank-note deal.

“Prominent among the names featured in the secret memo were that of the then CBN governor, Frof. Soludo, senior officials of the finance ministry and a former president,” the statement by HEDA had stated.