There`s a very dirty insurance fraud presently rocking the Ladi Balogun-led First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and this scam is so murky that, operatives at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are said to be brain storming every day to get to its root.
The dirty fraud is casting aspersion on the integrity of the Otunba Subomi Balogun owned First City Monument Bank (FCMB), a financial institution reputed to be the first ever indigenous merchant bank in Nigeria.
According to one of the anti-graft agency`s officials who confided in National Enquirer, the fraud might earn the management of (FCMB) a negative connotation, if the agency eventually found it culpable of the sharp practices being alleged by one of its customers, Mr. Segun, the CEO of Eri-Ere Investments Limited.
Though the FCMB management we gathered is said to be making frantic efforts to save face as one of its representatives Temitope Akintayo who heads the Adeola Hopewell branch of FCMB has offered everything humanly possible to the investigating officer at EFCC just to twist the case against the complainant, it is at this point that bubble is bursting amongst the anti-graft operatives.
As the story which is being handled by the CTGI department (Counter-Terrorism and General Investigations) of EFCC goes, the CEO of Eri-Ere Investments Limited, Mr. Segun who`s the complainant in this matter, sometime ago was offered to insure his company and after assessment by the joint managements of FCMB and AIICO Insurance, Eri-Ere was given an annuity of N75m (an annual amount to be paid periodically).
We further gathered that, having agreed on this plan, the FCMB management when perfecting its papers and handling over to AIICO-their partner company to finalise the insurance policy for Eri-Ere Investments, the figure changed from N75m to N50m, and for God knows what later transpired, Eri-Ere`s insurance was later doctored and drastically reduced to the tune of N10m going by the books of AIICO-that clause is still a mystery at the EFCC headquarters on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The innocent CEO of Eri-Ere Investments wouldn`t have known what happened to its insurance but for an unfortunate armed robbery incident which affected one of its branches in Igando, Lagos last year, 2012. The robbery incident prompted Mr. Segun to demand for a possible replacement of some of its losses from AIICO since he`s running a policy with the company and to his chagrin, he was informed that his aggregate limit is just N10m which only covers one of his branches.
The EFCC is still digging and your darling Enquirer is following with keen interest, we shall give you details of how one of FCMB lawyers allegedly forged a certain document from the Corporate Affairs Commission in order to save face and the clandestine movements of their representative, Temitope Akintayo to clear the mess.
In our facts finding mission, we got in touch with the head Corporate Communications of FCMB, Ike Kalu and this is what he said, “ it is true that something like that happened but it is one of our departments that`s handling it, however we would rather not want to issue an official statement because the matter is still being investigated by the EFCC. From my own point of view, I discovered the customer in question is one of our clients and am told that`s what he normally does as he`s heavily indebted to us and other banks, in fact, his account with us has been frozen as we speak, thanks”. Ike Kalu told us on a final told.
-Yemoja New
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