Indications emerged on Sunday that a fresh N20bn contract scam may have been uncovered by security agencies in Oceanic Bank International Plc.

Our correspondent gathered that the bank under its former management allegedly financed contracts executed for companies owned by the former Managing Director, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, and her close associates, which were not in any way connected to the bank.

A document obtained by our correspondent showed that the bank, under the new management, was required to settle an outstanding balance of N20bn owed contractors on the inherited list.

It was, however, gathered from reliable sources at the bank that when the Central Bank of Nigeria-appointed Managing Director, Mr. John Aboh, took over the affairs of the bank, the management summoned contractors to verify their payment claims and give proof of service delivery.

A top official of the bank, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The bank asked the contractors to come and show where services were delivered or the structures in place in any of the Oceanic Bank branches to verify the contracts. But they could not show where they delivered their services.

“Out of the N20bn contract payment outstanding, the bank could only pay a little above N200m, which was about the worth of contracts found to have been actually executed for the bank. Meanwhile, these contractors had received huge sums of money from the bank, when in actual fact they had worked for other companies.”

According to the document, many of the contracts, including those relating to logistics, were also allegedly handled by companies owned by Ibru or her family relations.

The documents show how Dwellings International Limited had an outstanding balance of N40m; Felly Best (N70m); MACC (N105.6m); Tale Construction (N88.; Munavic (N76.8m); COPEN (N128.5m); and Homefront (N34.8m) among others.

The logistic vendors, according to the document, are Artee Industries Limited, Melake Technologies and the African Flower Company Limited, which are suppliers of air conditioners and furniture; laptops and computers; as well as staff uniforms respectively. The contact person for the three companies is Mrs. Hirut Ibru, the former MD’s daughter-in-law.

Others include Yunico Communications Limited and Backlink Technologies Limited. The companies handle the maintenance of armoured vehicles and air conditioners and bulk SMS alert respectively, and are both linked to Ibru’s son-in-law, Mr. Aleksandar Stankov.

Investigations by our correspondent had revealed that Oceanic Bank paid about N5.6bn for branches and unutilised guest houses owned directly by Ibru or her associates.

It was also learnt that the bank maintained 115 guest houses across the country, including an “executive guest house” at 20, Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, alleged to be Ibru’s personal residence.

For Ibru’s residence, the total amount paid for a five-year lease, beginning from October 25, 2008 was N88m. It was paid to Ogekpo Estate Managers and Ibru was also said to have received a hefty housing allowance during her tenure.

The document obtained by our correspondent also showed that the bank paid N137.5m to Casi Properties Limited, for another five-year period, for the former managing director’s residence. This began from October 25, 2012 to September 25, 2017, bringing the total amount to about N225m.

When contacted on Sunday, the Head, Corporate Affairs, CBN, Mr. Muhammed Abdullahi, said the apex bank was aware that after Aboh took over the affairs of the rescued banks, a lot of startling discoveries were made.

He said there had been disregard for risk management practices and the code of corporate governance.

“Indeed, the investigations carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have also revealed a lot of clear cases of criminal actions bordering on money laundering, and in some cases, outright stealing,” he said.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?action=post;board=20.0

Who the !@#$ are you and who the %^& are your sources?

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201001043351645

Indications emerged on Sunday that a fresh N20bn contract scam may have been uncovered by security agencies in Oceanic Bank International Plc.

Our correspondent gathered that the bank under its former management allegedly financed contracts executed for companies owned by the former Managing Director, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, and her close associates, which were not in any way connected to the bank.

A document obtained by our correspondent showed that the bank, under the new management, was required to settle an outstanding balance of N20bn owed contractors on the inherited list.

It was, however, gathered from reliable sources at the bank that when the Central Bank of Nigeria-appointed Managing Director, Mr. John Aboh, took over the affairs of the bank, the management summoned contractors to verify their payment claims and give proof of service delivery.

A top official of the bank, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The bank asked the contractors to come and show where services were delivered or the structures in place in any of the Oceanic Bank branches to verify the contracts. But they could not show where they delivered their services.

“Out of the N20bn contract payment outstanding, the bank could only pay a little above N200m, which was about the worth of contracts found to have been actually executed for the bank. Meanwhile, these contractors had received huge sums of money from the bank, when in actual fact they had worked for other companies.”

According to the document, many of the contracts, including those relating to logistics, were also allegedly handled by companies owned by Ibru or her family relations.

The documents show how Dwellings International Limited had an outstanding balance of N40m; Felly Best (N70m); MACC (N105.6m); Tale Construction (N88.Cool; Munavic (N76.8m); COPEN (N128.5m); and Homefront (N34.8m) among others.

The logistic vendors, according to the document, are Artee Industries Limited, Melake Technologies and the African Flower Company Limited, which are suppliers of air conditioners and furniture; laptops and computers; as well as staff uniforms respectively. The contact person for the three companies is Mrs. Hirut Ibru, the former MD’s daughter-in-law.

Others include Yunico Communications Limited and Backlink Technologies Limited. The companies handle the maintenance of armoured vehicles and air conditioners and bulk SMS alert respectively, and are both linked to Ibru’s son-in-law, Mr. Aleksandar Stankov.

Investigations by our correspondent had revealed that Oceanic Bank paid about N5.6bn for branches and unutilised guest houses owned directly by Ibru or her associates.

It was also learnt that the bank maintained 115 guest houses across the country, including an “executive guest house” at 20, Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, alleged to be Ibru’s personal residence.

For Ibru’s residence, the total amount paid for a five-year lease, beginning from October 25, 2008 was N88m. It was paid to Ogekpo Estate Managers and Ibru was also said to have received a hefty housing allowance during her tenure.

The document obtained by our correspondent also showed that the bank paid N137.5m to Casi Properties Limited, for another five-year period, for the former managing director’s residence. This began from October 25, 2012 to September 25, 2017, bringing the total amount to about N225m.

When contacted on Sunday, the Head, Corporate Affairs, CBN, Mr. Muhammed Abdullahi, said the apex bank was aware that after Aboh took over the affairs of the rescued banks, a lot of startling discoveries were made.

He said there had been disregard for risk management practices and the code of corporate governance.

“Indeed, the investigations carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have also revealed a lot of clear cases of criminal actions bordering on money laundering, and in some cases, outright stealing,” he said.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?action=post;board=20.0

thanks for d link
dunno wasup with these banks nowadays hopefully aftr all this they emerge stronger and more transparent