.More Commercial Banks Task Personnel On ‘Risky’ Customers
By Baron Ike
Indications emerged on Thursday, June 29 that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is anxiously awaiting the report of the detectives investigating the alleged millions in local and foreign currencies which arrested alleged kidnapper, Chukwudimeme Onuamadike, alias Evans deposited with some banks.
Four commercial banks – FirstBank, Fidelity Bank, Diamond Bank and GTBank – are already on the police radar over yet to be disclosed sums which Evans deposited with them and the circumstances surrounding the opening of the accounts.
The apex bank, Armadanews.com learnt, is said to be following the police investigation closely and will act as soon as the report is made available to the management.
The CBN is said to be highly interested in ensuing that the rules guiding opening and withdrawal of large sums of money from banks’ customers are followed to the letter, particularly the rules on Bank Verification Number (BVN), and the photographs of customers who come to withdraw sums above what the rules stipulate.
“We will make our report available to the CBN at the end of the whole investigation,” one of the sources told this medium.
A CBN source also confirmed that there is no way the supervising bank will not be availed of the outcome of the report of such a sensitive case when the detectives are done with their job.
With the CBN angle with regard to sanctions introduced into the saga, we gathered that other commercial banks have mandated their personnel to ensure that they are free from anything that has to do with Evans and his millions.
The banks are said to be doing much now to ensure that “risky” customers are kept at arms-length at least for now.
The branch of one of the four banks located around Ikeja already affected, Fidelity, has been on its toes trying to deal with the circumstances that arose from Evans account opening that is domiciled with it.
Recently, Armadanews.com reported that operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were digging deeper at unusual quarters to unearth the hidden corners where the smart kidnapper cum armed robber and drug dealer stashed the millions of naira and foreign currencies he collected as ransom from his victims.
They are interested in knowing if the banks’ management and personnel did what was expected of credible financial institutions while opening account(s) for customers, particularly for a suspected criminal like Evans, who operates with different identities.
Detectives have been in talks with GTbank, FirstBank, Fidelity Bank and Diamond Bank believed for now to have warehoused Evans money. Evans himself told the police he has money in the affected banks.
Moshood Jimoh, Force Public Relations Officer did not respond to calls on when the police may likely round off their investigation on the Evans case who reportedly went to court on Thursday, June 29 to press charges against the IGP and other police chiefs on his ordeal.