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Nigeria: Anti-graft agency EFCC raids Dangote offices

Published

12 months ago

January 5, 2024

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has carried out a raid on the headquarters of Dangote Industries Limited in Ikoyi, Lagos, amidst an ongoing investigation of forex management by the Central Bank of Nigeria under former governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The Dangote Group, owned by billionaire Aliko Dangote, and 51 other companies are the subject of an investigation by the anti-graft commission into purported preferential forex allocations under the Emefiele-led CBN. The anti-graft agents were present at the Dangote offices, according to two high-ranking EFCC officials, though they would not comment on why.

Nigeria is currently looking for more investments to help boost its economy which is struggling partly due to the foreign exchange crisis largely between 2015-2023, an era which saw the country’s currency, Naira, fall into one of the worst-performing currencies in the world.

As of June 15, the country’s gross foreign exchange reserves were $34.62 billion. However, as of December 1, 2023, the foreign exchange reserves decreased to $32.97 billion, based on data from the CBN.

The country maintained several exchange rates up until June 2023, which analysts claimed was a factor in market volatility, fluctuations, and distortions in the allocation of foreign exchange. The government has sought to stabilize the economy with two major policy actions: the removal of the fiscal bleeding in petrol subsidies and the unification of the exchange rate.

One of the officials said, “I can confirm that our men are there, but I can’t comment on the reason for their presence there.”

According to sources, the anti-graft commission had previously written to the 52 businesses, asking them to submit documentation proving how they had allocated and used foreign currency that had been sold to them at official rates over the previous ten years.

Forms A and M, which described the forex allocations made to the companies between 2014 and June 2023, were requested by the EFCC from the firms.

The last eight years have seen an audit of Nigeria’s financial and fiscal status. The apex bank under Emefiele is accused of depositing public funds in foreign currencies in as many as 593 bank accounts in the US, the UK, and China without the board of directors’ and the CBN Investment Committee’s consent, according to recent findings by Jim Obazee, Special Investigator on the CBN and Related Entities.

Related Topics:Central Bank of Nigeria Dangote EFCC Featured Foreign exchange Nigeria

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

20 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

20 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.