BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Fraudsters steal N523m from bank; Nigerian govt’s debt servicing hits N1.87trn in H1… other stories

Hello, and welcome to the Business Roundup this week. Here, we bring you highlights of events that happened during the week -from the capital market to the mainstream business activities, while not forgetting the tech/economy build up.

Here are the Headlines:

• CBN threatens to deduct money from loan debtors’ accounts
• Oil theft killing economy, as 265 illegal refineries uncovered in SPDC corridor
• Fraudsters hack bank, steal over N523m in one weekend
• Nigerian govt’s debt servicing hits N1.87trn in H1

Summary:

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded on directly deducting loan defaulters under the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP), as farmers ignore their debt obligation.

This was made known by the CBN Senior Manager, Development Finance Office, Port-Harcourt, Celsus Agla, on Thursday, in a meeting with maize farmers and other stakeholders.

Agla said some farmers that obtained loan through the Anchor Borrower Programme have ignored appeals to repay, and some describe the loan as grant. This has led CBN into considering the Global Standing Instruction (GSI).

As Nigeria continues to struggle with oil theft, Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has disclosed that there are over 265 illegal refineries in just the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) corridor.

On Thursday in Lagos, Sylva delivered a speech at the 60th anniversary of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) over the situation.

The minister was represented by Mr Kamaru Busari, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

The Nigerian police has revealed that fraudsters have hacked into an old generation bank (name withheld), stealing a whopping sum of N523,337,100.00 in one day.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigeria’s inflation rate now 20.5%; ePayments transactions in Nigeria hit all-time high… other stories

Already, the police have cracked the gang that hacked into the bank and arrested two members of the ring.

However, the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), where the case is being investigated, said they have stepped up the manhunt for other members of the syndicate who are on the run.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has revealed that the federal government, in the first six months of 2022, spent N1.87 trillion repaying matured loans.

The loans include those obtained from foreign countries and organizations and those obtained from citizens (domestic market).

DMO stated this in its latest debt report published on its website on Tuesday.

On NSE ROUND UP: Investors lose N124.9bn to sell-off in BUA Cement, Guinness

The equity capitalization in the Nigerian capital market crashed to N26.53 trillion at the close of trading on Thursday.

The figure was N124.90 billion less than the N26.55 trillion posted by the bourse on Wednesday.

Also, the All-Share Index dropped by 231.57 basis points to close with 49,190.34, down from 49,421.91 reported the previous day.

On the tech scene, SecondSTAX, Binance, Hadean, Lazerpay, Amazon, Bamboo, Microsoft, Google, were some of the names that made the headlines in the tech ecosystem this week.

Nigeria’s Ibukun Awosika, and South Africa’s Leslie Maasdorp, have been appointed to join Binance CEO as members of the Binance Global Advisory Board.

Also, a Nigerian YC-backed health-tech startup, Remedial Health, has announced securing $4.4M seed funding.

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