THE Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has arrested two top managers of a commercial bank for
assisting the former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT,
Abdulrasheed Maina, to launder stolen pension funds. Maina is on the run
after the EFCC filed charges against him for stealing billions of
pension funds through a phony biometric exercise alongside former Head
of Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye.
Sources at the EFCC disclosed that the two bankers, Danjuma Zubairu,
group head, private banking and Abubarkar Gwambe, an account officer, in
the Abuja Central Business District business unit of the bank, were
arrested on Thursday following fresh evidence that they are managing
proxy accounts for the fugitive.
The accounts, which have over time witnessed massive inflow of slush
funds include two corporate and three individual accounts. The first
individual account opened in the name of Abdullahi Faizer, had a
turnover of N1.5billion while the other operated in the name of Nafisatu
Aliyu recorded a turnover of over N100,000.
The corporate accounts of Cluster Logistics had a turnover of
N500million and $400,000 USD. Drew Investment and Construction and
Kongolo Dynamics Cleaning Limited recorded turnovers of N54million and
N509million respectively. All five accounts have different opening
packages. Four of the accounts were allegedly opened by one Khalid
Aliyu, a relation of Maina, who was an employee of the bank.
The said Khalil is currently at large. But investigation established
that Abdulrasheed Maina is the one operating the accounts. Competent
sources in the anti-graft agency disclosed that this nexus was
established through detailed analysis of telephone text messages and
email communication between Maina and the bank officials.
The bulk of the monies, it was gathered, had been moved through some
Bureau de Change operators,who convert them into dollars and then
transfer to Maina in his hideout, believed to be United Arab Emirates.
The EFCC has been on the trail of Maina for a number of years.
Before the agency filed charges against him in absentia, it arrested
the woman, who served as secretary to Maina during his reign as the
chairman of the controversial PRTT, during which billions of pension
funds reportedly disappeared from the treasury.
Ann Igwe, who was a confidant of Maina, was grilled by the agency and
she allegedly made useful confessions on how the biometric contract
allegedly awarded to streamline pension administration under Maina
actually became a conduit for stealing pension fund.
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