Sanusi Dragged To Court Over Alleged N50bn Fraud

Shareholders of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, yesterday, dragged the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi ,before a Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of complicity in an alleged N50billion fraud.

In a suit they entered through their lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the plaintiffs, including Abdullahi M. Sani, Adaeze Onwuegbusi and Chijioke Ezeikpe, alleged that Sanusi, as the CBN governor, acted contrary to the provisions of sections 12, 32, 35 and 39 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap B4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, by deliberately falsifying the actual financial state of affairs/solvency of Intercontinental Bank Plc and subsequently sold it to his cronies at a ridiculous sum of N50 billion.

Aside Sanusi, others joined as defendants in the suit were the CBN and the Security & Exchange Commission.

Specifically, they are praying the court to, among other things, determine whether Sanusi, “did not act fraudulently in waiving/writing off the sum of N16.2 billion owed by Mr. Aig-Aigboje Imokhuede and Mr. Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank and the sum of N8.9 billion owed by Senator Bukola Saraki and other sums so owed, all totalling over N40bn, in a bid to enable the said Access Bank Plc to fraudulently purchase Intercontinental Bank Plc at a ridiculous sum of N50 billion only, even when the quarterly profit of the said bank was more than N50bn and which Bank at the material time was worth more than N1 trillion, to the detriment of the Plaintiffs as shareholders and investors.

”Whether the 1st defendant, acting as the Governor of the 2nd defendant, did not act fraudulently, in breach of his public office, against the public interest and contrary to the provisions of sections 12, 32, 35 and 39 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap B4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 in deliberately strangulating the banking operations and falsifying the actual financial state of affairs/solvency of Intercontinental Bank Plc as a ground for revoking the operating licence of and taking over the management of the said Intercontinental Bank Plc, of which the plaintiffs are shareholders, only to undervalue the said bank to the detriment of the plaintiffs as shareholders and investors and sell the said bank to his friends/associates/cronies in Access Bank Plc where Mr. Aig-Aigboje and Mr. Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director respectively of the said Access Bank Plc, acting indebted to Intercontinental Bank Plc, to the tune of N16.2 billion, to the knowledge of the 1st defendant.

”Whether the 1st defendant, acting as the Governor of the 2nd defendant did not act fraudulently, in breach of his public office, against the public interest and contrary to the provision of sections 12, 32, 35 and 39 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap B4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, in taking over Intercontinental Bank Plc, of which the plaintiffs are shareholders, and selling same to Access Bank Plc, notwithstanding that the facilitator of the said sale/buy-over transaction, Senator Bukola Saraki, was also indebted to Intercontinental Bank Plc, to the tune of N8.9 billion, through his companies, Limkers, Dicetrade, Skyview Properties and Joy Petroleum, to the knowledge of the 1st defendant,” among other allegations.