The Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), a public organisation, has truly said that its present examination uncovered that Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Limited, a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, moreover known as GTCO Plc, has greater than 10,000 shoppers being revealed to extreme danger with out their understanding.
NewMailNG reviews the workforce, within the Private Investigation Report (PIR), declared GTBank Limited, led by Segun Julius Agbaje, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER), unethically opened up checking account for a lot of numerous the said “customers” with out their permission.
Edward Ejembi Omaga, President of Global Integrity Crusade Network, whereas providing the workforce’s PIR at a globe interview Friday, October 4, 2024, stored in thoughts the document confirmed that GTBank had truly been penalized drastically for varied infractions additionally on the world diploma.
The organisation, within the document, moreover levelled varied different motley claims approaching “unscrupulous, unethical and criminal activities” versus the banks.
Justifying its obligation to perform the examination, Omaga insisted that the CIGN Private Investigation Report was assembled in line with Section 24 (d) and (e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as modified).
The workforce said the essential aim of the document to help in guaranteeing that corrupt strategies are eradicated each the essential monetary area of the Nigerian financial state of affairs and the nation at massive.
Explaining the elemental threats in GTBank’s Unsolicited Account Opening for reckless folks as its “so-called” shoppers to unduly enhance its shopper base, Global Integrity Crusade Network said because the second of its document, there greater than 10,000 shoppers revealed to extreme danger with out their understanding, as accounts had been allegedly opened up within the Guaranty Trust Bank of their names with out their permission.
According to the document, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited was included July 19, 1990, and accredited to participate in industrial monetary and varied different allied options inside Nigeria and elsewhere.
GICN, within the document, extra uncovered the monetary establishment has Ordinary Shares of 25 billion with 8 Active Directors, but its solely investor and particular person with appreciable management is Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, stood for by Segun Julius Agbaje.
The document talked about: “In the United Kingdom, Segun Julius Agbaje began the Bank by registering similar on the Companies House as Rainsouth Limited with Number 5969821 on 8 December, 2006.
“The mentioned Rainsouth Limited went by way of varied modifications till it turned Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited on 17 March, 2008. One of the corrupt practices lately linked to Guaranty Trust Bank Limited in Nigeria has to do with Unsolicited Accounts Opening.
“This is a situation where a customer did not approach the bank or show any interest in maintaining an account with the bank. Yet, the bank goes ahead to source for the customer’s information, such as telephone number, date of birth, Bank Verification Number (BVN), and other vital details to open an account for the customer without his/her consent.”
The workforce moreover affirmed within the document that “the aim of this practice is to increase the customer base of the Bank, thereby giving it high ranking in terms of size, capacity and profitability.”
Omaga knowledgeable press reporters: “We submit that Unsolicited Accounts Opening tantamount to breach of knowledge privateness, identification theft, and may expose the harmless account holders to numerous monetary crimes.
“As of today, there are over 10,000 customers in the database of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited who are already exposed to grave danger without their knowledge.”
GICN additionally steered within the document that a number of of the influenced shoppers, that obtained the wind of the expansion have truly endangered to take authorized motion in opposition to the monetary establishment.
The workforce, on the media rundown equally said that its PIR document affirmed that Guaranty Trust Bank, in addition to its participation in Unsolicited Accounts Opening for over 10,000 ‘customers’, quick created misleading financial declarations and proclaimed incorrect earnings to misguide most of the people on its financial settings.
The document stored in thoughts: “We have equally uncovered that Guaranty Trust Bank Limited has been declaring earnings that don’t mirror its precise monetary efficiency.
“For instance, GTCO PIc on 11 September, 2024, released its Audited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the period ended 30 June, 2024, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) wherein the whopping sum of N1.004 trillion was declared as Profit Before Tax (PBT).”
“This caused the Group to be reported all over media as ‘the first Nigerian financial institution to cross the N1trillion mark in profit.’ ”
GICN, nonetheless, talked about within the document: “It is our finding that these figures, as contained in the Audited Statements, are mere conjectures hurriedly put together by Segun Julius Agbaje and his team to deceive the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), customers/investors and the general public into believing that all is well with GTB.”
The workforce, whereas testing the Nigerian governing our bodies to do their examinations additionally, extra insisted that GTBank “could not justify its stated profit of N1 trillion”, which it launched to most of the people these days, claiming that such huge earnings can have been proclaimed with roundtripping.
Omaga said on the rundown: “Ladies and Gentlemen, there isn’t a gainsaying the truth that Guaranty Trust Bank Limited has develop into infamous over time for participating in misleading accounting practices to artificially inflate revenue figures.
“For instance, no substantial pieces of evidence presented by Segun Julius Agbaje to support the assertion that GTCO Plc made over N1 trillion in profit as at 30 June, 2024. Even at that, it is very possible that the figures were generated through roundtripping.”
He mentioned the thought of roundtripping as “a course of the place funds are moved out and in of the financial institution by way of completely different accounts or entities to create an phantasm of legit transactions.
“The combination of this process and other unethical business practices within the Bank points towards the direction of systemic corruption, fraud and money laundering, which are opened for further investigation by the relevant agencies.”
“It is feared that such ugly situation if not properly checked could have the tendency of not only undermining customers/investors’ confidence in the Bank but pose significant risks to the stability of Nigerian financial sector.”
Besides the supposed misleading financial declarations, the PIR document higher stored in thoughts Guaranty Trust monetary establishment had truly been penalized drastically for varied infractions on the world diploma.
Omaga, President of GICN affirmed: “Surprisingly, Segun Julius Agbaje didn’t inform Nigerians that the company picture of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited has been terribly battered in lots of overseas international locations the place it’s carrying on enterprise.
“He (Agbaje) lied by stating in the recent Audited Statements that GTCO Plc ensures compliance with disclosure requirements under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).”
The document talked about: “The reality is that Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited was sanctioned by the identical FCA to pay a monetary penalty of £525,000 for breaches of Principle 3 (Management and Control) of the Authority’s Principles for Businesses between 19 May, 2008 and 19 July 2010.
“In another development, the FCA imposed on Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited a financial penalty of £10,959,700 pursuant to Section 206 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.”
The workforce said: “As regular, the financial institution agreed to resolve this matter at an early stage and was given a 30% low cost which lowered the advantageous to £7,671,800.
“The FCA, in justifying this monetary penalty, which was paid with clients/traders’ funds not later than 24 January, 2023, said that Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited once more didn’t put in place insurance policies and procedures to forestall and detect cash laundering.
“FCA considered this repeated misconduct to be a direct result of the inability of the Senior Management within the Bank, over a prolonged period of time, to formulate and implement an effective plan capable of addressing the weaknesses identified in its AML and financial crime systems and controls.”
According to the declaration, Guaranty Trust Bank had truly been placed on maintain in Ghana, an adjoining West African nation, for quite a few violations of fx procedures.
“Our investigation took us to the Bank of Ghana the place we found that the Foreign Exchange Trading Licence of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) was suspended for a interval of 1 (One) month with impact from 18 March 2024.
“The Press Release dated 4 March 2024 signifies that the mentioned Licence was suspended on account of varied breaches of the Foreign Exchange Market Regulations, together with fraudulent documentation in overseas change operations.
“By the Press Release, the Bank of Ghana cautioned GTB to put in place effective controls to ensure strict adherence to the extant Regulations and Guidelines,” GICN stored in thoughts.
The workforce moreover questioned within the declaration why the GTBank presumably carried out a lot of offenses in Nigeria with no due assents to it.
The organisation talked about: “One begins to surprise the variety of infractions dedicated by GTB in its originating nation – Nigeria with out due sanctions from Regulatory Bodies and Anti-Corruption Agencies.
“We are certain that it is not too late for the Regulatory Bodies and Anti-Corruption Agencies to act by rescuing the soul of GTB. The time to act is now!”
In its recommendations, the workforce, within the PIR document, steered that Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should all of a sudden liquify the Board and Management of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited to be able to allow full examinations proper into its motley claims versus the banks.
The document moreover supported the suspension of Segun Julius Agbaje as Group CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc and fetch from him all paperwork or recordsdata associating with Guaranty Trust Bank Limited to forestall disturbance with extra question proper into the issues elevated within the PIR.
According to the declaration, if condemned of Corporate Governance, the CBN because the monetary area regulatory authority, mixed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Services (DSS) “should deal decisively with Segun Julius Agbaje and prosecute him like Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, who practically milked the defunct Oceanic Bank Plc dry before the Banks Consolidation era in Nigeria.”
Other recommendations made encompass that the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) along with Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) “should urgently step into the affairs of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited with a view to safeguarding customers/investors’ funds and portfolios before the Bank fails completely.”
The declaration equally steered the Nigerian Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), House of Representatives Committee on Banking along with House Committee on Banking Regulations have to collectively or individually assemble a Public Hearing, the place at Segun Julius Agbaje will definitely be mobilized to point out up and shield the ‘weighty allegations’ consisted of in our Private Investigation Report (PIR).”
GICN moreover suggested the UK National Crimes Agency (NCA), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Ombudsman Service, British Prime Minister, Governor Bank of England, United States Department of Justice, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Federal Reserve Board (FRB), British High Commissioner to Nigeria and Governor Bank of Ghana to shut down all procedures of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) of their areas.
“By so doing, GTB will be prevented from turning the United Kingdom, United States of America and Ghana into a safe haven for money laundering, terrorism financing and other sundry economic crimes.”
The declaration stored in thoughts: “That in addition to the above, UK National Crimes Agency (NCA), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are requested to commence prosecution of Segun Julius Agbaje in line with appropriate laws for all the infractions he has used GTB to commit within the territories of both United Kingdom and USA.”
