EXCLUSIVE: On trial for graft in Nigeria, Orji Kalu sells own banks in five countries

A former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has sold the entire issue shared capital of his banking group, First International Banking (FIB) Group Limited, The Gambia, PREMIUM TIMES can report today.

The transaction, which has never been made public, was concluded between 2015 and 2016, documents seen by this newspaper have shown.

The documents revealing the transaction was obtained in a leaked data obtained by German newspaper, Suddeutsche Zeitung, and the International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ) from two offshore secrecy providers (Appleby and Asiaciti Trust) and 19 secrecy jurisdictions around the world.

The leaked 1.4 terabyte data, named Paradise Papers, consist of 13.4 million records and is no doubt one of the biggest leaks in history. PREMIUM TIMES is the only Nigerian media organization involved in that investigation.

According to one of the documents — the term sheet reflecting the terms and conditions in relation to the acquisition of shares — the bank was bought by a...read more