ICPC Swoops on Sterling Bank, Discovers N258m Stashed New Notes

Tamarauemi Ebimini

As part of ongoing efforts at ensuring that commercial banks comply with the CBN’s directive on the distribution of the redesigned naira notes, operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have revealed that last Friday, they discovered N258 million stashed in the vault at the head office of Sterling Bank in Abuja.

A statement by ICPC said the discovery followed one of the commission’s operations at ensuring that commercial banks and other interest groups do not flout the apex bank’s directive.

It said when the ICPC monitoring team visited the bank and discovered the stashed new naira notes in the bank’s vault, it was informed that the cash was the remnant of what the CBN had given the bank for onward distribution to its branches.

The team, however, found out that only the sum N5 million each was distributed to their various branches.

The statement signed by the ICPC Spokesman, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, stated that both the regional and service managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while investigation continues.

In a similar vein, the commission disclosed that it effected the arrest of the Head of Operations, Keystone Bank, Mararaba in Nasarawa State for frustrating its customers at getting the new naira notes.

The ICPC team, while on its routine operation, found out that the ATMs at the branch were not dispensing to its customers while other bank customers were accessing only N1000.

It was only after the arrest was made and clarification received from CBN that the position of the officers of the bank was not correct, that the ATMs started dispensing N5000 to non-customers and N10000 to its customers.

The team also revealed that it arrested one Abdulkareem Shaibu, a Security Guard with Zenith Bank, 3rd Avenue Gwarimpa, as well as Ali Adam and Shafiu Umar.

While Shaibu, the security guard, was arrested for being in possession of five ATM cards which he was using to collect money for different unknown persons who were not within the bank premises at that time, Adam and Umar were arrested in front of Zenith Bank, 1st Avenue Gwarimpa, for selling the new naira notes.