Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, among others are on ground to probe depositors of millions of old N500 and N1,000 notes at the Ilorin branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
According to Daily Post, the anti-corruption agencies are monitoring the lodgments and educating depositors on the implications involved in depositing millions of naira with questionable sources.
The EFCC and ICPC operatives are educating depositors, suspected to be fronting for politicians to lodge money on their behalf.
Security sources at the CBN branch said, “Depositors of millions of naira will have to approach their various commercial banks after one month when the investigation into their sources of money would have been concluded.
“The action followed suspicion that some politicians are using people as fronts to lodge money in millions on their behalf as a result of the ongoing new naira swap,” DAILY POST reports.
The aforementioned publication reported that sharp practices have been alleged by external officials involved in the exercise as depositors of millions of naira allegedly bribe their way with at least N10,000 to ensure easy processing for their lodgments.
Depositors have to go through three or four stages before counting and final judgment, an official of the bank who requested anonymity told Daily Post.
He said: “Some depositors stand to forfeit their lodgments if, eventually, they could not give a proper account of their sources of income after investigation by the anti-graft agencies.”
Some of the depositors that thronged the CBN arrived with sacks of naira notes to deposit as directed by the apex bank.