The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the arrest of an operations manager at a commercial bank in the Federal Capital Territory for hoarding N29 million worth of the new Naira notes.
The anti-graft agency stated in a press release that the operations manager was taken into custody after refusing to load the bank’s ATMs despite having the funds in the vault.
The EFCC reported that the arrest was part of the ongoing surveillance and visits to banks across the country to assess their compliance with the government’s monetary policy and verify if they were deliberately refusing to dispense the new Naira notes.
“Before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs and the payment of the stipulated amount across the counter to the delight of the distraught customers who had spent hours in queues without getting the new notes,” the statement read.
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The EFCC reported that more than five bank branches were visited in Abuja on the same day and similar exercises are ongoing in various zonal commands across the country.
“This discovery, which indicates sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC in continuation of the ongoing surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned Naira notes.
“More than five bank branches were covered today by the operatives in Abuja. Similar exercises are ongoing in zonal commands across the country,” the statement concluded.
