The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zenith, Providus, and Jaiz banks have arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
Their arrest were linked to fraud allegations surrounding suspended and former Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu and Sadiya Umar-Farouq.
A source close to The Guardian confirmed the development saying Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu (Zenith Bank), Haruna Musa (Jaiz Bank), and Walter Akpani (Providus Bank) were arrested on Tuesday.
The source revealed further that they have been suspected of facilitating the improper diversion of public funds into private accounts.
Speaking further, the source said EFCC is working on unearthing suspicious transactions involving hefty sums of public money going into private accounts involving both Edu and Farouq during their tenures as ministers.
DAILY GIST recalls that Farouq, a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs under the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, was accused of embezzling N37 billion meant for the conditional cash transfer program under Buhari’s tenure.
Meanwhile, Betta on the other hand was accused of fraud involving the sum of N585.189million
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale could not be reached for comments as of press time.
The large-scale movement of funds into private accounts was partly facilitated by a potential deliberate oversight in flagging suspicious transactions —a responsibility banks bear under various anti-financial crime laws and Central Bank directives.
