EFCC arrests bank official for hoarding N29m new notes in Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested an official of a commercial bank in Abuja for hoarding N29 million new naira notes.

In a statement issued on Monday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, the commission said the official, who is the operations manager in the unnamed bank, was arrested after he refused to load the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) despite having N29 million in the vault.

The EFCC added that more than five bank branches in Abuja were covered by its operatives in a bid to address the current naira scarcity in the country.

Nigerians have been keeping vigil at banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) posts since last week as the scarcity of the currency notes hits many homes across the country.

Some groups had threatened to embark on protests over the scarcity of the new naira notes.

READ ALSO: New Naira: EFCC arrests members of trading syndicate in Abuja

The statement read: “Before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs and the payment of the stipulated amount across the counter to the delight of the distraught customers who had spent hours in queues without getting the new notes.

This discovery, which indicates sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC in continuation of the ongoing surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned Naira notes.

“More than five bank branches were covered today by the operatives in Abuja. Similar exercises are ongoing in zonal commands across the country.”

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