Unity Bank, MD in N3.4BN Foreign Exchange Scam

Unity Bank Plc is in a N3.4 billion ($21.067 million) foreign exchange tangle with its former Managing Director, Alhaji Falalu Bello, who presently is the Executive Chairman at MBS Merchants Limited. The bank in a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is alleging that Falalu Bello unilaterally approved for his company the said amount to import fertilizer and now is delaying payment as against the agreement.

Irritated by this development, the management of Unity Bank petitioned the CBN over the matter alleging violation of corporate governance by the former managing director.

The petition sighted by Financial Vanguard and signed by Ahmed Yusuf, Acting Executive Director, Enterprise Risk Management and Umar M. Adamu, Divisional Head, Legal and Compliance, with Ref. No UB/L&C/UMNHJSIMB5FB/02l14, dated 3rdFebruary, 2014, to the Governor of CBN said: “We hereby humbly write to bring to your notice instances of Violation of Code of Corporate Governance. Sometime between June to September 2013, three Deferred Letters of Credit (LCs) totaling $21,067,500.00 were opened in favour of MBS Merchants Limited (the Company).