The suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has reacted to the allegations that he was unable to account for the interest accruing to the N550 billion recovered fund kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN].
Recall that the final report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets (PCARA) that covered the period of May 29, 2015, to November 22, 2018, had raised concerns about the contradiction in the recovered funds by the EFCC under Magu.
One of the inconsistencies is the foreign currency recoveries, while EFCC reported a total naira equivalent ofN46,038,882,509.87, the naira equivalent of the foreign currency lodgments was N37,533,764,195.66, representing a shortfall of N8,505,118,314.21.
Similarly, while EFCC reported total Naira recoveries ofN504, 154,184,744.04, the actual bank lodgments were N543, 511,792,863.47,meaning that the anti-graft agency exceeded its reported recoveries by N39,357,608,119.43.
Reacting to the allegations, Magu in a statement by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, added that such recovered funds kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria do not generate interest.
The statement said: “It is falsehood that Magu placed N550 billion recovered loot into a deposit account. “The alleged transaction never featured in the proceedings before the Salami panel.
Magu was never confronted with any such allegation by the panel and the news is blatant falsehood. “To the best of Magu’s knowledge, no such amount is in any such account and he remains aghast at such outrageous figures. No one has confronted Magu with such allegations.
“All recovered funds are lodged in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Such recovered funds do not generate interest. This is elementary and can be verified from the CBN and the federal ministry of finance.
He said the information could be confirmed from other government revenue generating agencies as funds kept in TSA account do not generate interest.