Banks' Biggest Debtor Latest: EFCC Arrests Ololo, Atuche - Raids Their Homes

Lanre Adewole, Abuja - 17.10.2009

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Friday, arrested and detained the sacked Group Managing Director of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche and the highest individual debtor of non-performing loans in the country, sacked Managing Director of Falcon Securities, Mr. Peter Ololo.

Falcon Securities is a subsidiary of FinBank that handles its shares business. Ololo owes three troubled banks – Bank PHB, Afribank and Intercontinental Bank – a total of non-performing debts of N108.55 billion.

Commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest. According to him, “They are in our custody; they are with us.” They are being detained in Lagos office of the commission as of press time.

It was also gathered that the homes of the duo in Lagos were searched by the commission’s operatives. The search, which was said to be on at the time of filing this report (5.50pm), was reportedly aimed at getting exhibits that could be used in the prosecution of the sacked bank chiefs.

The operatives were said to be on the trial along other sacked bank chiefs that were indicted for alleged insider abuse in the last stress exercise conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The chairman of the commission, on Thursday, stormed Lagos with 80 operatives for the arrest of the sacked management teams of three of the five banks that failed the recent CBN stress test and the recovery of over N1 trillion non-performing loans owed 10 troubled banks by top Nigerian businessmen, oil companies and stockbrokers.

The first five banks that failed the apex bank’s stress test included Oceanic Bank, Intercontinental Bank, FinBank, Afribank and Union Bank, while the last five are Bank PHB, Spring Bank, Unity Bank, Equitorial Trust Bank and Wema Bank.

Only Wema and Unity Banks’ management teams were spared. Waziri held a secret meeting with the operatives on Thursday before unleashing them on the debtors and the sacked bank chiefs.

The list of non-performing loans’ debtors released by CBN contained names like Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Gen. Buba Marwa; scion of the late M.K.O Abiola’s dynasty, Kola; the deported Vaswani brothers, billionaire businessmen, Femi Otedola and Aliko Dangote, Professor Pat Utomi, Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, Chief Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto Cement, among others.

All the debtors to the five banks are said to owe a non-performing loans of N451.6 billion. Debtors to the five banks earlier bailed out by the apex bank reportedly owed N737.6 billion. The total non-performing loans owed the 10 troubled banks stood at N1.189.2 trillion.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it had recovered N135 billion, leaving an outstanding of over N1 trillion. Fourteen sacked bank chiefs that are being prosecuted by the anti-corruption commission were members of the sacked management teams of the first five audited banks.

Other sacked bank bosses yet to be arrested are Mr. Charles Ojo of Spring Bank and Mr. Ike Oraekwuotu of Equitorial Trust Bank. The commission had earlier launched an investigation into the allegations contained against them in the audit report, with sources within the commission revealing that they had a case to answer.

The commission had delayed the commencement of the operation for the list of the debtors to be released by the apex bank. The list was eventually released last Wednesday by the apex bank. All the sacked bank chiefs had been put on security surveillance by the commission to forestall the possibility of escape.

To all those who said Atuche's only problem was acquiring Spring bank, i hope this egg on your face smells good?
I really need someone to explain to me what the job of the boards of Nigerian banks are?
How can a bank have these huge amount of non performing loans without the connivance of the board?
How come we have heard no word from Pat Utomi, the vice chairman of PHB board?

link and source please.