No N573m Was Deposited Into Account Of Pastor Linked To Magu – FCMB

First City Monument Bank Plc has denied reports in some quarters of an alleged deposit of N573m into the account of one of the associates of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu.

Magu was suspended as the Acting Chairman of Nigeria’s anti graft body in July this year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The suspension followed the setting up of a panel to investigate Magu on allegations of corrupt practices during his tenure as the EFCC Boss.

The Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets had accused Magu of allegedly using Godwin Omale, founder of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, to launder funds abroad.

There had been reports that the Managing Director of FCMB, Adam Nuru, allegedly told the panel investigating the suspended chairman that N573m was erroneously lodged into the account of Omale.

The reports had claimed that Nuru said the bank just discovered the mistake upon invitation by the committee four years after the money was posted.

However, on Wednesday, FCMB said that no such deposit was logged into the said account.

FCMB’s Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Diran Olojo, said the transaction was a  system error which reflected in the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit records.

The bank noted that the error did not amount to crediting the said amount into the account of Omale.

The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to widely circulating stories incorrectly stating that our Managing Director, during a recent presidential hearing in Abuja, testified that the bank mistakenly transferred N573m to the account of a church and the said error was not discovered for four years. 

“We feel it is in the public interest to state emphatically that there was no transfer of  N573m into this account, mistakenly or otherwise.

“To provide further clarity, during a maintenance upgrade of our systems in 2016, a defective file led to the aggregation of multiple unrelated entries into a single balance under the affected customer’s name in one of our reports.

“This aggregation occurred only in the weekly automated report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. It had no effect on any customer account balance or statements and therefore was not immediately identified.”

The bank said its Managing Director clarified to the Presidential panel that the system generated report was incorrect and that there was no mistaken transfer of N573m

The MD, according to the bank also submitted comprehensive documentary evidence to the panel.

Olojo added, “We appreciate that comments may have been misconstrued and therefore believe it is important to emphatically clarify the position that there was no mistaken transfer whatsoever, as stated above.”

The bank said it would continue to  fully cooperate with the panel investigating Magu, adding that it has been entirely transparent in its reporting. 

Our attention has been drawn to widely circulating stories incorrectly stating that our Managing Director, during a recent presidential hearing in Abuja, testified that… pic.twitter.com/lR7wQBXu6Y

— FCMB (@MyFCMB) August 12, 2020