The suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has debunked the claim that he did not account for the interest yielded by the N550 billion recovered fund kept in the custody of Central Bank of Nigeria.
It should be recalled that the recently released Final Report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets (PCARA) revealed how interest rates accrued from N550 billion recovered by the EFCC between May 2015 and May 2020.
The report said the EFCC’s “Failure to report on the interest on actual lodgments clearly establishes that interest element of over N550 billion has been re-looted relating to the period under review.”
However, in a statement by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, Magu said the recovered fund kept in the custody of CBN do not generate interest.
The statement added: “It is falsehood that Magu placed N550 billion recovered loot into a deposit account.
“The alleged transaction never featured in the proceedings before the Salami panel. Magu was never confronted with any such allegation by the panel and the news is blatant falsehood.
“To the best of Magu’s knowledge, no such amount is in any such account and he remains aghast at such outrageous figures. No one has confronted Magu with such allegations.
“The alleged transaction never featured in the proceedings before the Salami panel. Magu was never confronted with any such allegation by the panel and the news is blatant falsehood.
“To the best of Magu’s knowledge, no such amount is in any such account and he remains aghast at such outrageous figures. No one has confronted Magu with such allegations.
“All recovered funds are lodged in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Such recovered funds do not generate interest. This is elementary and can be verified from the CBN and the federal ministry of finance.
“This can also be confirmed from other government revenue generating agencies. Funds kept in TSA account do not generate interest.”
