Saturday 12 January 2013

N750m Scandal: EFCC Grants Soludo Bail


Professor Charles Soludo, the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank (CBN), is back home after his interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with an alleged N750 million bribery.
Charles Soludo
Charles Soludo
The money was alleged to have been offered in the process of awarding the polymer contract for the printing of N20 notes.
Sources told The Nation last night that he was grilled twice before he was granted bail yesterday.
Also, the commission yesterday granted bail to the Imo State Commissioner for Finance Deacon Okafor Chike John and Accountant-General, Eche Ezenna George, who are being investigated for alleged mismanagement of state funds amounting to about N40billion.
The probe of the alleged bribe offer by the Australian firm, Securency, kept the anti-graft agency busy with more government officials coming to testify in the matter.
President Umaru Yar‘Adua launched the new N5, N10 and N50 polymer notes on September 30, 2009 at the Presidential Villa.
The circulation of the new bank notes coincided with Nigeria ’s 49th Independence Anniversary day celebration.
Some CBN officials were said to have received bribe from Securency International Pty for the purpose of getting the contract.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) had earlier probed the alleged N750million bribe offered by Securency to win the contract.
Although the contract for the printing of N5, N10, N50 notes was awarded in April 2009, the bribery scandal involving Securency was perpetrated in 2006.
According to findings, Soludo was asked to go late Friday-night after he had been quizzed for the second time. He wrote what a source described as a “useful statement.”
But the EFCC asked the former CBN Governor to “be ready to make himself available for more interrogation.”
A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have interacted with Soludo but this is just the first leg of the series of interrogation we are going to have with him.
“Soludo gave an insight into how the contract was awarded. We will cross-check his statement with those of other stakeholders.
“Certainly, he has more questions to answer because we have a long list of government officials connected with the award of the contract. So at every bend, we may need to crosscheck some facts.”
According to a document, the CBN tender results for banknotes in 2006 showed how Securency bid for N20 polymer note at Euro 73.475 per 1000 notes including freight charge.
But it was learnt that the cost was later reduced to Euro 59.88 by the CBN when the N20 polymer contract was awarded in 2006.
Others involved in the bid were Global Securency ( Australia ); Gieesecke and Devrient (G &D) of Germany ; De La Rue (the UK ); FC Oberther ( France ) and Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC).
According to findings, the bid was opened on March 27, 2006 and finally concluded by April 4, 2006.
A March 16, 2006 letter from the Director of Currency and Banking Operations of the CBN had invited the five firms for the bid.
After the bid, G&D and NSPMC were awarded contract for the printing of the notes. But Global Securency won the bid for the production of polymer substrates.
The contract was awarded to the short-listed firms on May 2, 2006.
Meanwhile, the EFCC yesterday granted bail to the Imo State Commissioner for Finance Deacon Okafor Chike John and Accountant-General, Eche Ezenna George, who are being investigated for alleged mismanagement of state funds amounting to about N40billion.
According to the Head of Media and Publicity of the commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the two officials were released after producing two sureties.
Uwujaren said: “They were released to reliable sureties-a Deputy Director in the FCT, a Director in Imo Liaison Office and the Liaison Officer.”
The bail confirmed that the two officials were arrested by the EFCC contrary to the claim of the Imo State Government.
NaijaCenter

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