Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, illegally operated 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China without obtaining the approval of the CBN’s Board of Directors and its Investment Committee.
This is contained in the report of the Special Investigator on the CBN and Related Entities, Jim Obazee, which was submitted to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
Tinubu had constituted Obazee to investigate CBN’s operations under Emefiele via a letter dated July 28, 2023.
In his final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences)’, the Special Investigator disclosed that Emefiele deposited £543, 482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without authorisation.
“The former governor of the CBN invested Nigeria’s money without authorisation in 593 foreign accounts in the United States, China and the United Kingdom while he was in charge.
“All the accounts where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator, In the UK alone, Emefiele kept £543,482, 213 in fixed deposits without authorization by the CBN board and the Investment Committee of the bank,” the report partly read.
The embattled ex-CBN governor, who is currently in Kuje Custodial Centre, is being prosecuted for N1.2 billion procurement fraud.
He has not been able to perfect the N300m bail granted him by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on November 22.