Less than 24 hours after First Bank released a statement to refuting allegations regarding the concealment of funds belonging to the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA, FCMB PLC has also released its official statement on the matter.
FCMB said “Following various stories in the online media about the alleged discovery of frauds at Nigerian Ports Authority involving 3 banks including First City Monument Bank (“FCMB”, or the “Bank”), the Management of the Bank would like to make the following clarifications.
The bank frontally denied any involvement that “FCMB has not been involved in any cases of concealment or fraudulent treatment of funds belonging to NPA. FCMB regularly receives Naira and US Dollar payments on behalf of NPA which are remitted to NPA’s TSA accounts with CBN”
However, FCMB disclosed that “On one occasion, FCMB received Euro payments for NPA. FCMB has made requests from NPA for a Euro account to which to transfer the Euro proceeds, as the bank was only in possession of Naira and US Dollar TSA account details for NPA. We have also informed NPA that upon receipt of the correct account details the transfer will be made. This remains our position as we await account details”.
The bank said “It is important to reiterate that the said balance has not at any time been concealed from either the new NPA management, or the CBN. The bank has not been informed of any investigation relating to these funds or its conduct regarding same”.
In the last two weeks, the new head at the NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman had begun a probe into the financials of the government agency.
