CBN sacks mgt. of Union Bank, Titan Trust, two other banks

President Bola Tinubu has started the implementation of the report of the Special Investigator on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities, Jim Obazee with the dissolution of the board and management of Titan Trust Bank and three others.

The others are Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Polaris Bank, and Keystone Bank.

A report by Insidebusiness online disclosed that the decision to dissolve the boards was taken after a meeting between Yemi Cardoso, Obazee, and the board and management of the four banks.

It would be recalled that the investors in Titan Trust Bank refused to honour the invitation to a meeting with the Special Investigator.

Obazee, a special investigator, says his team has uncovered how Godwin Emefiele, the former CBN governor, set up Titan Trust Bank (TTB) to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria.

Obazee, the head of the special investigation panel on the CBN and related entities, revealed that Emefiele used two Dubai-based companies — Luxis International DMCC (Luxis) and Magna International DMCC (MAGNA) — owned by Vink Corporation Middle East FZC, to set up Titan Trust Bank as proxies.

With the help of the Nigerian embassy in UAE, the panel report said the two companies do not have a physical presence in Dubai as claimed in their acquisition documents.

The panel also said such discovery contravenes section 3 subsection 5 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, adding that Luxis and Magna are not “supposed to be allowed to operate or acquire a bank in Nigeria”.

During the investigation, according to the panel, it was discovered that there is a mysterious shareholder who has issued interest-free, long-term loans to TTB with no fixed repayment plan.

The report said the mysterious shareholder was traced to be Emefiele.

From one financial scandal to another, Emefiele has been languishing in prison and facing a plethora of court charges concerning corruption since the beginning of Tinubu’s administration.