Saharareporters has confirmed from US government investigators that the United Bank of Africa (UBA), was fined $15 million for failure to report suspicious transactions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) due to huge money transfers from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The penalty against the New York Branch of United Bank for Africa, PLC for violtions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was as a result of the deposit made by Charles Soludo, the current governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria into the accounts of the UBA branch in New York.
“The money was assessed to be close to $300 million”, according to one of the investigators who spoke anonymously to Saharareporters. Sources told our reporters the money was used in short term investments in New York for businesses that were unrelated with that of the stated mission of AFC and the proceeds might have gone into private bank accounts.
Further inquiries shows that the transaction came directly from the Central bank account of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) of which Soludo is Chairman while Tony Elumelu , the managing director of the United bank of Africa is a director. Other directors of the African Finance Corporation (AFC) include major bank CEOs and Nigeria’s so-called “economic prime movers” that benefited largely from financial scams packaged as “economic reforms” by the Obasanjo regime.
Charles Soludo, Tony Elumelu (UBA), Jim Ovia (Zenith), Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and Cecilia Ibru are all directors of the board of the African Finance Corporation (AFC). These banks are supposed to be under the supervision of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Two days ago the US authorities announced the assessment of concurrent civil money penalties of $15 million, against the New York Branch of United Bank for Africa, PLC for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The UBA has already made a single payment of $15 million to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
In what appears to be a continuation of trouble for the UBA branch in New York, US authorities told Saharareporters that they have detected another suspicious transaction of $200 million into the UBA New York branch account in March 2008, the monies were traced to the CBN /AFC account in Nigeria.
In July 2007 the UBA entered into an agreement with the US Department of Justice to settle civil and criminal liabilities of money laundering of fraud proceeds discovered between 2000 and 2004 through accounts held at UBA, including that of a company named Zamora.
US authorities told Saharareporters that the recent fines by the OCC and FinCEN are totally unrelated to the July 2007 agreement with the US department of Justice in which the UBA also forfeited $5 million. The July 2007 settlement did not preclude possible criminal prosecution of UBA for tax evasion.
TRANSCORP -styled "African Finance Corporation Board":
Chairman: Professor Chukwuma C. Soludo, CFR
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
Director: Mr. Austine O. Ometoruwa
President and Chief Executive Officer
Africa Finance Corporation
Director: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, CON
Chief Executive Officer
Dangote Group
Director: Mr. Ebong Bassey
Managing Director,Union Bank of Nigeria
Director: Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, MFR
Managing Director/ CEO
Oceanic international Bank PLC
Director: Mr. Erastus Akingbola
Managing Director
Intercontinental Bank Plc
Director: Mr. Jim Ovia
Managing Director
Zenith Bank PLC
Director: Mr.Tony Elumelu, MFR
Managing Director
United Bank For Africa Plc
Director: Mr. Tunde Lemo
Deputy Governor FSS
Central Bank of Nigeria
Director: Mr. Oye Hassan-Odukale, MFR
Managing Director
Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd
Director: Mr. Femi Otedola
Chief Executive Officer
Zenon
Director: Mr. Lewis Tung
Managing Director
Wempco Group
Director: Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman
Honourable Minister of Finance
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Ministry of Finance
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