TSA: FG serves forfeiture order on Diamond, Skye, Sterling Banks, others

The Federal Government has served seven banks with the order of the Federal High Court in Lagos directing a temporary forfeiture of $793.2m allegedly hidden with the banks in contravention of its Treasury Single Account policy.
Government’s lawyer, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), who obtained the ex parte order on July 20, confirmed the development on Monday.

He said although the banks was on Saturday served through substituted means by advertising the court orders in newspapers, for the order to be fully enforceable, it required physical service on the relevant personnel of the lenders.
“We could not serve the banks on Friday because as of the time the certified true copy of the enrolled order was processed and released by the court, the banks had closed for work.
“Therefore, we commenced service on the banks today (Monday) at their headquarters in Lagos. By 4pm, before the close of work, we had served all the banks”, Akinseye-George told Punch.

TITOPE BLOG had reported that Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday ordered some banks to remit $793,200,000 the Nigerian government.
They are United Bank for Africa; Diamond Bank Plc; Skye Bank Plc; First Bank Nigeria Limited; Fidelity Bank Plc; Keystone Bank Limited; and Sterling Bank Plc.

According to court papers, a total of $367.4m was illegally hidden by three government agencies in UBA, while a sum of $41m was illegally kept in a NAPIMS fixed deposit account with Skye Bank.

The court papers stated that $277.9m was hidden in Diamond Bank; $18.9m in First Bank; $24.5m in Fidelity Bank; $17m in Keystone Bank; and $46.5m in Sterling Bank.
A lawyer from Akinseye-George’s law firm, Vincent Adodo, who deposed to a 15-paragraph affidavit in support of an ex parte application filed by the AGF, stated that seven banks colluded with Federal Government officials to hide the funds in breach of the TSA policy.
The funds, he said, were revenues, donations, transfers, refunds, grants, taxes, fees, dues and tariffs accruable to the Federal Government from different ministries, departments, parastatals and agencies.
Adodo said the banks had failed to remit the funds to the TSA domiciled in the CBN in violation of the guidelines issued by the Accountant-General of the Federation, which fixed September 15, 2015 as the deadline for such funds to be moved.
He stated, “The 1st to 7th respondents (banks), in collaboration with and/or collusion with unknown officials of the Federal Government, conspired to disobey the relevant constitutional provisions, thereby depriving the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of funds belonging to it, which are needed urgently to fund pressing national projects under the 2017 budget.”
Among the allegedly culpable government agencies is the National Petroleum Developing Company.