The trouble facing the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc., Herbert Wigwe, is far from being over.

Wigwe was allegedly picked along with some officials of the bank, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the weekend.

Their arrest followed the bank’s alleged involvement in the assets of former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu. Kalu is presently serving a 12-year jail term over some the deals he was said to have negotiated using the bank. It was also gathered that they were interrogated in connection with the bank’s alleged involvement with inflation of contracts said to be linked to former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

Wigwe and some other officials of the bank were also said to have had a hand in the alleged money laundering for former Petroleum Minister, Deziani Allison-Madueke who is currently on exile in Britain.

Meanwhile, in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last Friday by the Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, the lender admitted that its officials were invited for interrogation over credit facilities availed Slok Nigeria Limited (owned by Orji Uzor Kalu) by the defunct Diamond Bank plc (which Access Bank had inherited following its merger with Diamond Bank) and which were secured by Slok’s assets charged to Diamond Bank.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a trending report on social media regarding the alleged arrest of Mr. Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc (Access Bank) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (“the Commission”).

“We wish to state that the issue essentially relates to the credit facilities that were availed Slok Nigeria Limited (“Slok”) by the defunct Diamond Bank plc (“Diamond”) and which were secured by Slok’s assets charged to Diamond. Access Bank had inherited the Slok credit following the recent merger of Diamond with Access Bank.

“Given the differing interest of the Commission and the Bank on the assets of Slok deriving from the court’s recent judgment on Slok, the Commission had invited for interrogation officials of Access Bank who were handling the Bank’s recovery efforts on Slok credit including its Group Managing Director.

“Following fruitful engagement between the Bank and the Commission, we are of the opinion that the issues relating to Slok investigation have been resolved.

“As an institution built on best practice, we wish to assure our esteemed stakeholders that the Bank will continue to conduct its business in line with extant laws and relations.”

Meanwhile, an impeccable source within the anti-graft agency confirmed to Street Journal Magazine that Wigwe and others were merely released on bail, and would return to the EFCC early next month.

In his words he queried ‘the bank has a lot to hide, what statement were they giving that their executives were only interrogated and not arrested. What is the difference? Was the interrogation not linked with Slok and Orji Uzor Kalu? Nigerians should be patient, we would soon know who is the liar here’.

The Street Journal recalls that The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police Force, Milverton Ikoyi-Lagos, in June 2017, preferred a N2.5billion fraud charge against Wigwe and two others before an Ogun State High Court, Sagamu.

It will be recalled that in the second quarter of last year, the acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu, read riot acts to officials in the financial institutions, warning them to be wary of “dubious individuals or groups within and outside their establishments”, who abuse both the whistle-blowing policy of the Federal Government as well as the Post No Debit, PND, Order in the sector.

He made the remark against the indications that some banks officials were in the habit of divulging information on high-net-worth accounts to their accomplices, who in turn obtain a purported PND order to fleece unsuspecting customers.

Source; Streetjournal