‘Money meant for other branches’ — Sterling Bank denies hoarding N258m new notes

Sterling Bank has debunked an allegation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that it “stashed N258 million new notes” in its vault.

ICPC had, on Tuesday evening, said that it discovered millions of new naira notes in the vault of Sterling Bank’s Abuja regional office.

The anti-graft agency also said that both the bank’s regional and service managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while the investigation continues.

However, in a series of tweets on Wednesday, the bank described the allegation as “inaccurate and misleading”.

Sterling Bank said it has always complied with all the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) guidelines on the distribution of redesigned notes.

It said that when the ICPC monitoring team visited the Abuja regional office, all the bank’s automated teller machines (ATMs) were dispensing all denominations of the newly designed banknotes.

It added that customers were also withdrawing cash over-the-counter in accordance with the regulator’s recommendations.

“Dear @icpcnigeria, The allegation of a discovery, as presented in the narrative, is inaccurate and misleading,” the tweet reads in part.

“It must be noted that no cash was “stashed” in the vault of the regional office, and for emphasis, Sterling Bank has complied with all the guidelines on the distribution of redesigned notes from inception to date.

“We are neither gas-filled objects nor criminals, as such there was no “busting.”

Dear @icpcnigeria, The allegation of a discovery, as presented in the narrative, is inaccurate and misleading. It must be noted that no cash was “stashed” in the vault of the regional office, and for emphasis, Sterling Bank has complied with all the guidelines#FactsOnly https://t.co/aF4nMM78DJ

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— Sterling Bank (@Sterling_Bankng) February 8, 2023

#FactsOnly pic.twitter.com/WSYrGqTGog

— Sterling Bank (@Sterling_Bankng) February 8, 2023

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Sterling Bank said that the N258 million in the vault of its Abuja regional office was earmarked for distribution to other branches in the region.

It alleged that members of the ICPC monitoring team were informed of the sums contained in the branch’s vault prior to the inspection.

“All balances in our vaults are reported daily to the Central Bank of Nigeria and form the basis for the allocation of new notes in an efficient manner; it is therefore,untrue that such monies are ‘stashed’ or ‘hoarded’,” the bank said.