{"id":2590,"date":"2022-02-24T22:15:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T22:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebirareporters.com\/?p=2590"},"modified":"2022-02-24T22:15:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T22:15:54","slug":"efcc-grills-sterling-bank-ceo-abubakar-suleiman-over-n20bn-kogi-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebirareporters.com\/efcc-grills-sterling-bank-ceo-abubakar-suleiman-over-n20bn-kogi-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"EFCC Grills Sterling Bank CEO, Abubakar Suleiman, over N20bn \u2018Kogi fund\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has grilled Abubakar Suleiman, the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc and two other top officials of the lender over the controversial \u2018hidden\u2019 N20 billion said to allegedly belong to the Kogi State government.<\/span><\/p>\n According to inside source, rising from this development, the EFCC invited and interrogated the Sterling Bank boss alongside two other officials of the bank for several hours to get the true picture of the circumstances around the said account. The bank\u2019s MD and other officials were released after intense interrogation and they were to return anytime the EFCC needed them on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n It was confirmed that the bank\u2019s CEO made a useful statement to the commission while investigation is still on<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe bank\u2019s officials were grilled for several hours by the EFCC on the matter and going by their statements, heads may roll soon,\u201d a source said.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking further, the source divulged, \u201cIf the bank says the account was not opened and operated by the Kogi State government, then something is fishy and the bank must answer to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWho authorized the opening of the fixed deposit account and when? Who are\/were\/was the signatory to the account? How much had been withdrawn from the account since 2019? And who is keeping the N666.7 million which made up the balance of N20 billion initially said to be deposited into the bailout account? These are some of the questions the EFCC is trying to unravel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Recall the anti-graft agency, in August 2021, said that it had credible intelligence that funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities were in an account domiciled in Sterling Bank<\/a> Plc with the name of Kogi State Salary Account and account No. 0073572696. The money was a bailout fund to the state meant to pay workers\u2019 salaries but allegedly diverted to an interest-yielding account.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The state government, however, vehemently denied the allegation. But the EFCC insisted the diverted money had been recovered and transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a transaction reportedly acknowledged by the apex bank.<\/span><\/p>\n