the crash of the Naira – Forex scam: EFCC arrests bank’s top managers

LAGOS — THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is on the trail of several bankers who have perfected a foreign exchange racket.
Already, the anti-graft agency has arrested top managers of a new generation bank over their alleged involvement in the scam and has started full investigation into the activities of other banks’ foreign exchange deals.

Confirming the development, spokesman of the EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the foreign exchange racket has been going on for long and the EFCC is investigating it.

With the discovery, it has shown that Nigerian banks are the culprits in the free fall of the nation’s currency, the naira, due to fraudulent activities some of its top managers.

Investigation has shown that in a grand scheme designed to mop up foreign currencies from the official market only to be resold at huge profit in the open market, top bank managers forge documents including flight tickets, international passports and fake company registration document and use them to illegally apply for Business or Personal Traveling Allowance.

Two weeks ago, managers of one of the new generation banks ran out of luck, when EFCC agents raided the bank’s Marina, Lagos branch and carted away thousands of fake travel documents and other supporting papers used in the racket. Two top managers were arrested over the scam.

The discovery of the foreign exchange syndicate in banks has pointed to the source of capital flight from the country.

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