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FG Panel Demands Refund Of N7bn From Unity Bank - Business - Nairaland

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FG Panel Demands Refund Of N7bn From Unity Bank by themomentng: 8:56am On May 21, 2019
…threatens to charge lender with economic sabotage
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has demanded a refund of N7 billion from the Unity Bank. It vowed to slam a charge of economic sabotage on the lender if it refuses to return the money owed the Federal Government.
The sum represents $15,561,769.99 and N1,488,455,810.90 being excess and arbitrary charges on accounts of some agencies of government by the bank before the implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) system.

The Head, Media and Communication of the Panel, Ms Lucie-Ann Laha, who gave the warning in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said that the agenciesincluded the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), the Kaduna Refinery and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

“Unity Bank, which had agreed to this amount in February, has neither proffered a payment plan nor demonstrated good faith by actually initiating payments.

“Instead, the bank has severed all communications with the Panel in this regard,” Laha said.

The panel had commissioned a team of experts, including forensic auditors, to look into the operations of accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government in commercial banks within the country prior to the commencement of TSA.

The spokesperson said that the exercise had unearthed some sharp practices and elicited indictments. She added that some of the indicted banks had since agreed to a refund plan and in fact commenced payments.

“Unity Bank has, however, not made any move in this regard. The Panel is unrelenting in its resolve towards ensuring that economic saboteurs are brought to book and looted public property, including money, duly returned to government,” Laha said.

But in a statement by Unity Bank signed by its Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor, the lender denied the allegation stressing that the report of the panel is geared towards misinforming the public and misrepresenting the Bank’s position and nil impact resolutions reached during the reconciliation engagements.

Read the full statement below:

Unity Bank has faulted the allegation against it by Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) over the ongoing reconciliation of the affected MDA accounts, stating that the report is geared towards misinforming the public and misrepresenting the Bank’s position and nil impact resolutions reached during the reconciliation engagements.

In the ongoing investigation, Unity Bank has conducted itself professionally by providing all evidence of customers’ instructions requested by the panel as it relates to all the MDAs.

Unity Bank had earlier transferred all the balances belonging MDAs to their respective TSA accounts in Central Bank of Nigeria as far back in 2016.

Upon approaching the Bank in 2018 to conduct investigations on the subject of MDAs, Unity Bank, as a responsible corporate citizen, cooperated with the panel accordingly. But out of its own volition, the panel refused to admit further documentary evidence from the Bank when it was obvious that the Bank has no balances kept in its books for the MDAs.

Instead, the panel suspended the investigation as apparently it could not fault any of the evidence presented by the Bank.

The Panel in an earlier letter requested the Bank to accept culpability and pay off a certain sum deemed outstanding which the Bank objected and insisted on completing the reconciliation exercise because the claims presented at this point against the Bank were unfounded and frivolous

It is therefore surprising for the SPIPRPP to turn back and issue a statement alleging sabotage when it abandoned its sitting and investigation midway.

Furthermore, it must be emphasized that, without prejudice to the constitutional power of Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) as the sole agency of government to investigate, review, reconcile and collect revenue for government, the bank co-operated fully with SPIPRPP and its consultants in the investigation process and it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that Unity Bank has all records to show that it does its banking transactions transparently and in compliance with extant banking regulations and at no time took charges on the MDAs that were outside what is contained in the Bankers Tariffs, which guide banking operations in Nigeria.

The bank therefore maintains that the allegations of SPIPRPP, are superfluous, frivolous ill-motivated and unfounded as falsely presented in a press statement purportedly sent to the public.

We hereby call on our customers and the general public to disregard the allegations which is subterfuge aimed to unnecessarily smear the image of the Bank.

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