New Naira Notes Crisis: ICPC Arrests FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Managers For Hoarding 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), has arrested the manager of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) branch in Osogbo, Osun State and the branch service head of Stanbic IBTC Bank in Deidei, Abuja, for hoarding the new naira notes.
While the FCMB manager allegedly prevented the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) loaded with cash from dispensing money to customers, the Stanbic IBTC manager was areested for refusing to upload cash into the branch’s ATMs even when the cash was available in the bank and people were queuing at the ATMs.”

The ICPC spokesperson stated that “When the ICPC monitoring team stormed the bank at about 1:30pm to ensure compliance, and demanded an explanation as to why all the ATMs were not dispensing cash, it was informed by the branch’s Head of Operations that the bank just got delivery of the cash.

The spokesperson of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Azuka Ogugua, in a statement on Friday said the cash bundles were loaded into the ATMs while still wrapped, and as such, could not be dispensed through the machines.

“The ICPC Compliance Team in Osogbo has busted an FCMB in Osogbo, Osun State, where some ATMs were loaded with cash with their wrappers un-removed, thus preventing the cash from being dispensed.

“The Team therefore directed that the wrappers be removed, and the cash loaded properly.

“However, when a follow-up visit was undertaken the following day to ascertain the level of compliance, the Team discovered that one of the ATMs was still loaded with the wrappers un-removed. The Operation Manager of the Bank was arrested and taken in for questioning.”

Also, the commission said that seven Point of Sale (POS) operators and a security guard were also arrested in Osun State over alleged extortion of residents, noting that it is investigating the activities of the POS operators as it has been revealed that they got the cash from filling stations “but they then resell the cash to the public at exorbitant rates.”

The ICPC said that “The arrested persons are helping the Commission with information to assist investigations and bust any syndicates involved in the hoarding or sales of the redesigned notes.”

Regarding Stanbic IBTC, The ICPC spokesperson stated that “When the ICPC monitoring team stormed the bank at about 1:30pm to ensure compliance, and demanded an explanation as to why all the ATMs were not dispensing cash, it was informed by the branch’s Head of Operations that the bank just got delivery of the cash.

“However, facts available to the ICPC operatives indicated that the branch took delivery of the cash around 11:58am and either willfully or maliciously refused to feed the ATMs with the cash.

“Against this backdrop, the ICPC team compelled the bank to load the ATMs with the redesigned Naira notes and ensured that they were all dispensed before arresting the culprit.

“Investigations are still ongoing, and the Commission will take appropriate actions as soon as they are concluded.”