EFCC arrest Bank operation manager for hoarding N29m of new naira notes

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested an Operations Manager of a commercial bank for “hoarding new naira notes” in Abuja.

The arrest was made in Abuja Central Area on Monday, February 6 2023, for refusing to load the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) despite having N29 million redesigned Naira notes in the branch’s vaults.

Since the Central Bank of Nigeria gave the deadline to return the old naira notes, Nigerians have needed help exchanging the currencies as they complained many banks continued to dispense the old notes.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, first put the deadline on January 31, 2022, and later postponed it to February 10 with a grace period of 7 days.

The CBN appealed to the police, ICPC and the EFCC to assist in monitoring the ensure that some banks did not sabotage the government’s monetary policy.

With the arrest of the Operation managers, it is evident that many banks “were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned Naira notes,” adding, “More than five bank branches were covered today by the operatives in Abuja. Similar exercises are ongoing in Zonal Commands across the country.”

“The operation will continue until normalcy is restored to the banking system. Nigerians finding it difficult to access their funds at any bank and suspect foul play should contact the commission for immediate intervention,” the EFCC said.

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