Last night two of the banks – Fidelity and Sterling defended their integrity, saying they were not involved in any TSA deal.
In a statement, Charles Aigbe, Divisional Head of Brand and Communications, said Fidelity Bank had no role.
The statement said: “Our attention has
been drawn to media reports stating that Fidelity Bank illegally
concealed $24.5m in contravention of the Federal Government’s Treasury
Single Account (TSA) policy, citing court papers filed by the Office of
the Attorney-General of the Federation at the Federal High Court in
Lagos today (yesterday).
“Please note that at the commencement of
the TSA policy all TSA related accounts held by the bank were fully
disclosed to the authorities.
“We do not have any TSA related account
with a balance of $24.5m in Fidelity Bank which has not been remitted to
the authorities.
“This matter is coming to us as a
surprise. We are therefore reaching out to the Office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation to ascertain which account or
parastatal they are referring to with a view to carrying out a detailed
reconciliation.”
Sterling Bank’s Chief Marketing Officer
Brands and Communication Group Henry Bassey, said there is “no hidden
NAPIMS and NPDC funds in Sterling Bank”.
The statement added: Our attention has
been drawn to reports of an order by the Federal High Court sitting in
Lagos on Thursday 20th July 2017mandating Sterling Bank Plc to remit the
sum of US$46.5m (Forty Six, Million, Five Hundred Thousand United
States Dollars Only) to a designated Federal Government Asset Recovery
Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The sum in question supposedly
represents undisclosed qualifying funds under the Federal Government’s
Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy illegally kept by the National
Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and Nigerian Petroleum
Development Company (NPDC).
“We wish to state unequivocally that
Sterling Bank does not hold any sum in any currency as a deposit from
either of these entities.
“We have therefore written formally to the Office of the Accountant
General of the Federation (AGF) demanding a clarification of this claim
and a correction in the interest of the general public. “
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