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.