Court freezes 65 accounts for alleged forex manipulation

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the freezing of 65 bank accounts belonging to 12 firms and another individual suspected to be involved in manipulating Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

Ahmed Mohammed, the judge, made the order following an ex-parte application brought by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against the firms.

In the application marked FHC/ABJ/CS/979/2020, CBN claimed that activities of the firms and Adekunle Alonge, the individual, are “the cause of the current volatility and imbalance in the foreign exchange regime in Nigeria with the attendant negative impact on the economy”.

While moving the application, Mike Aondoakaa, CBN counsel, explained that the firms, which belong to some Chinese nationals, were able to access foreign exchange with the intervention of the highest levels of governments in Nigeria and China with the promise to engage in the production of textile materials in Nigeria.

However, he said the firms defaulted on the agreement after accessing the foreign exchange and resorted to smuggling textile materials from neighbouring countries into Nigeria.

The senior advocate of Nigeria told the court that investigation is being carried out by the CBN in collaboration with authorities of the Republic of Benin.

He prayed the court to grant an order freezing the affected accounts for 180 days pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

In a supporting affidavit deposed to by Innocent Okocha, deputy manager in the governor’s department in CBN, the plaintiffs submitted that “the aforesaid transactions undertaken by the defendants/respondents using their bank accounts can cause significant financial loss to members of the public if left unchecked.”

Ruling on the application, Muhammed granted the CBN permission to freeze the affected bank accounts for 90 days, adding that it could be renewed if investigations are not yet concluded.

“An order is made freezing all transactions in the bank accounts of the defendants/respondents listed on the motion paper for the period of 90 days in the first instance, pending the outcome of the investigation currently being conducted by the CBN,” the judge said.

“If the applicant could not conclude the investigation and its inquiry within the 90 days given by the court, it can seek an extension of the order upon an affidavit filed to show the extent of the investigation and the need for the court to extend the period.”

The judge also ordered that any person affected by the freezing order may apply to the court to be heard in the matter.

The case has been adjourned till November 25, 2020, for a report on the investigation.

The affected firms are Adekunle Alonge, Armadillo Integrated Services, FTM Capital Management Limited, Sonora Asset Management Limited, Sonora Capital & Inv Limited, Sonora Capital Investment Limited, Sonora Capital & Investment Limited and Sonora Capital and Investment Limited.

Others are Sonora Capital Investment Limited, Sonora Consult, Sonora Energy & Allied Services Limited, Sonora Energy and Allied Services Limited, VIP Impress Hollywood Limited and Vlisco Nigeria Limited.

The said accounts are domiciled in Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, FCMB, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Bank, First Bank, Skye Bank, Heritage Bank, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC and FSDH.