The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has granted a asking past times Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, for a temporary forfeiture of all funds held inward banking concern accounts non linked to BVNs — as well as whose ownership could non endure absolutely identified.
Also to endure seized past times the Nigerian authorities are funds held inward banking concern accounts without sufficient know-your-customer credentials, courtroom documents seen past times PREMIUM TIMES said.
Industry experts expressed strong reservations nigh a lack of specific legal framework for the unprecedented forfeitures as well as potential coercion of banks past times the federal authorities inward carve upward interviews with PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.
No estimates were at nowadays available, but it is widely held that billions of naira remained trapped inward the unlinked banking concern accounts since 2015 when the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered commercial banks to halt tending to novel enrollees.
The companionship followed an originating motility of notice filed past times Mr. Malami on behalf of the Nigerian authorities on September 28.
Nnamdi Dimgba, the Federal High Court jurist who presided over the ex-parte motion, granted all the nine reliefs sought past times Mr. Malami —himself represented past times a lawyer, Usman Dakas— on Oct 17.
The courtroom ordered all the nineteen deposit coin banks, DMBs, operating inward the solid position down to release to Nigerian authorities names of accounts non yet connected to BVN; trouble organisation human relationship numbers; their outstanding balances; domiciling locations; as well as domiciliary accounts without BVN as well as where they are domiciled.
Nigeria deposit coin banks that were listed every bit respondents inward the ex-parte adjust are: Access Bank, Citi Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank as well as First City Monument Bank.
Others are: Guarantee Trust Bank, Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank, Union Bank as well as United Bank for Africa.
The remaining iii are: Unity, Bank Wema Bank as well as Zenith Bank.
The courtroom too ordered all of them to expose whatever investments made with funds as well as to withhold say-so for whatever outward inflow of funds from the accounts. All the details are to endure submitted to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, as well as the CBN for authentication.
The banks were too directed to issue all banking concern accounts non linked to BVN inward national newspapers with a 14-day notice for individuals with involvement inward such accounts to come upward frontwards as well as justify why their funds should non endure forfeited to the Nigerian government.
Mr. Dimgba too ordered the CBN, which was joined every bit 20th respondent amongst the nineteen DMBs, to appoint an official who volition examine all the details submitted to the apex banking concern for compliance.
The authorities argued the affair nether Section 3 of the Money Laundering Act, 2011.
The department said banks must “ensure that documents, information or information collected nether the client due diligence procedure is kept up-to-date as well as relevant past times task reviews of existing records, especially for higher risk categories of customers or trouble organisation relationships.”
The BVN is a unique identification issue that tin endure verified as well as used to transact trouble organisation across all the banking platforms inward Nigeria.
The CBN imposed the policy to capture customers’ information for fiscal transactions as well as banking concern jibe fraud inward the banking system.
Registration for BVNs commenced on Feb 14, 2014, across the country. The CBN said over 20.8 meg customers enrolled forty meg banking concern accounts earlier the Oct 31, 2015, in conclusion deadline for customers residing inside the country.
The CBN extended the deadline for Nigerians inward the diaspora to Dec 2016 to sign upward for the BVN system. But hundreds of thousands domicile as well as abroad are nonetheless believed to endure left behind.
“Illogical, hasty’
A fiscal analyst who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES nigh the courtroom companionship rebuked the Nigerian authorities for attempting to shore upward its revenues past times forcibly seizing funds owned past times private individuals.
“There’s no position down for this desperate displace past times the federal authorities because customers who owned the funds met the required criteria at the fourth dimension they gear upward their banking concern accounts,” said Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, a Lagos-based fiscal analyst. “This is an endeavor to role federal powerfulness to coerce banks into submitting funds that belong to customers for its ain use.”
The Nigerian authorities had fallen on difficult times since 2014 when dwindling cost of unsmooth crude oil began to accept its toll on the country’s revenues.
The Buhari administration, which assumed component inward May 2015, has made concerted pushes to source funding to finance a bloated federal civil service as well as novel uppercase projects, including borrowing from local as well as international markets.
The authorities too said it would rely on recovered loot to finance its budget this year.
While Mr. Obi-Chukwu recognised fiscal challenges confronting the administration, he maintained that no policy must endure implemented past times fiat inward a democratic system.
“The Money Laundering Act they used to sway the jurist is clearly non sufficient to confiscate personal funds,” he said. “There’s no constabulary that allows for this specific activity taken past times the authorities every bit it stands.”
He advised the federal authorities to let people to withdraw their funds from the banking concern accounts if they’re non willing to link them to BVN, especially since they weren’t identified every bit proceeds of crime.
Lawyers weigh in
Two legal practitioners interviewed past times PREMIUM TIMES Sabbatum held slightly disparate views on the matter.
Liborous Oshoma, who runs a constabulary trouble solid inward Lagos, condemned the companionship every bit “far-reaching as well as despotic” inward nature.
“You can’t only drag banks to courtroom as well as inquire them to submit all funds inward banking concern accounts which they’re asset inward trust for private individuals,” Mr. Oshoma said.
“The funds are to a greater extent than oftentimes than non personal deposits. In law, orders are supposed to endure specific, directed as well as enforceable against individuals or institutions,” Mr. Oshoma said. “But nosotros cannot run into how the authorities assumed it could sue banks to enforce orders against individuals who receive got non been defendant of whatever criminal offences.”
Mr. Oshoma said the Buhari management did non fathom the possibilities of Nigerians who are serving long prison theatre sentences abroad as well as may non endure inward melody with developments inward the exterior world.
“The despotic vogue of wanting to accept what does non belong to them made them forget that people powerfulness endure inward weather where they cannot come upward as well as claim their funds for the adjacent xx years or more,” Mr. Oshoma said.
“If the authorities is actually desperate to larn people’s coin because they cannot endure found, it should abide by sensible agency of going nigh it as well as non resort to steps that are non inward consonance with democracy,” he added.
Although he questioned the legal premise of the federal government’s endeavor to seize the funds, Inibehe Effiong, too a Lagos-based lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES the overarching finish of the displace was understandable.
“The BVN is a policy of the federal authorities which is aimed at mitigating fiscal crimes inward the system,” Mr. Effiong said. “The policy was backed past times surely fiscal regulations which become far appropriate for the authorities to inquire for a full general freezing companionship of accounts whose owners cannot endure ascertained.”
“But what I cannot empathise is the legal construction upon which the policy is standing,” Mr. Effiong said.
Mr. Effiong said authorities should receive got sought details of banking concern accounts first, as well as then examine them individually as well as isolate ones with suspicious traits.
“The authorities should receive got stopped at requesting for details of all the banking concern accounts. but non become every bit far every bit getting a blanket blessing to withhold all funds.
“If they all the accounts based on their merits, they tin kind out the ones with criminal traces as well as seek their forfeiture,” Mr. Effiong said.
Premium Times