Strong indications have emerged that the Chairman of Titan Trust Bank, Mr Tunde Lemo and two foreign shareholders of TTB and Union Bank, Messrs Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara may lose their shares in the two banks if they shun Thursday’s invitation for interrogation by the Central Bank of Nigeria Special Investigator, Mr Jim Obazee.
The Office of the Special Investigator in a letter by its Head of Operations, Eloho Okpoziakpo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), sighted by newsmen, warned Lemo, Vink and Savara to physically attend the meeting with Obazee as scheduled on Thursday afternoon or risk losing their investments in the two banks.
The Office of the Special Investigator stressed in the letter that the processes for the confiscation of the shares of the trio in TTB and UBN would be “triggered” if they failed to honour Thursday’s invitation.
While Lemo is the Chairman of TTB, the two foreign businessmen, Vink and Savara, are the largest ultimate investors in both TTB and UBN.
The Special Investigator’s letter of warning followed a letter of excuse from the law firm of G. Elias, lawyers to TTB and UBN requesting the postponement of tomorrow’s scheduled meeting to the second week in January 2024.
The letter dated December 27 and signed by Prof Gbolahan Elias for the G. Elias law firm had sought to inform the Special Investigator that Lemo, Vink and Savara would not be physically available to honour Thursday’s summon as they are all currently out of the country to attend to family and other matters and won’t return to Nigeria until the second week in the New Year.
The lawyers then promised to submit another copy of the information requested by the Office of the Special Investigator on Thursday on behalf of the trio, adding that the law firm earlier submitted same documents on September 1,2023 at the Headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The lawyers reiterated their clients’ “willingness and readiness” to cooperate with the Special Investigator in carrying out his assignment.
But the Office of the Special Investigator in a swift response via a letter dated December 27, 2023, accused Lemo of obstructing the Special Investigator “in the course of his duties.”
The letter also said the Special Investigator is aware that Lemo travelled to the United Kingdom to celebrate his birthday and not for any serious matter.
The Special Investigator therefore rejected the excuse given by Lemo and the two foreign businessmen for their inability to honour Thursday’s summon, saying it’s unacceptable.
The Special Investigator’s office further said that neither Lemo nor any of the two foreign shareholders ever submitted any of the requested documents to the investigation team.
It further stated that none of the two foreign businessmen had ever presented himself to the Special Investigator since August 28, 2023, when they were first invited for interview.
The Special Investigator also informed Lemo that he would not accept the submission of the required documents by proxy as he and the two foreign businessmen would be required to personally defend such documents during the Thursday scheduled meeting.
The Special Investigator’s letter of reply to Lemo and the two foreign shareholders letter of excuse partly reads, “The Special Investigator is fully aware that you are in the United Kingdom to celebrate your birthday. This you made aware to the Special Investigator when you agreed to attend a meeting to be scheduled for 28th December 2023 and also proposed that Mr Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara be given 7 (seven) days to prove their purported ownership of Titan Trust Bank and Union Bank of Nigeria or forfeit their shares to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“Accordingly, the excuse given by your goodselves through your lawyers is unacceptable and regarded as obstruction of the Special Investigator in the course of his duties.
“We want to put it on record that neither you (Babatunde Lemo) nor Cornelius Vink nor Rahul Savara ever submitted any of these requested documents to the investigating team at the Department of State Services (DSS) or anywhere else before now. Infact, Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara have never presented themselves to the Special Investigator since 28th August 2023 when they were first invited for interview.
“The Special Investigator also directs that you should be informed that documents submitted through proxies shall not be accepted as Mr Cornelius Vink, Mr Rahul Savara and your good self will be required to speak to whatever documents/information you present during the meeting.
“Consequently, I am to further inform you that your invitation to appear before the Special Investigator on 28th December by 2pm prompt in respect of the matter under investigation and for which you had earlier made statement stands.
“Kindly note that the condition on paragraph 6 to 8 in our earlier letter to you with reference number CR:3000/TS1/ABJ/Vol1/69 dated 24th December 2023 remains effective and shall be triggered if you or Messrs Vink and Savara fail to attend the meeting as scheduled.”
Recall that following Lemo’s insistence that the acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc followed due process and met all regulatory requirements, including that of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, the office of the apex bank’s Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, has summoned the former CBN deputy governor and two foreign directors of TTB, Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara for further questioning on Thursday.
Lemo, according to the invitation letter from the Team of the Special Investigator, sighted by First News on Monday night, is to come along to the “meeting” with the Special Investigator, Obazee, fixed for Thursday, December 28, 2023, at the Department of Force Intelligence (DFI), Abuja, with both Vink and Savara in person.
Lemo had in a recent newspaper interview, following the release of the report of the special investigation into the activities of the CBN and other related entities, insisted that the establishment of TTB and the acquisition of Union Bank were transparent and duly verified by the relevant regulatory bodies.
But the final report of the special investigation submitted to President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday had accused the immediate past governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele, of using stolen funds to acquire Union Bank and Keystone Bank through proxies.
The TTB Chairman, it was learnt, had however been begging the Special Investigator behind the scene for leniency regarding the matter. He was also said to have been directed by the Special investigation team to put his pleas in writing, but he’s yet to do so.
The Team of the Special Investigator in its invitation letter to Lemo titled, “Re: CBN investigation activities: Invitation for a follow up meeting with the Special Investigator,” had described the TTB Chairman’s defence of the acquisition of Union Bank as “offensive”.
It noted that Lemo’s “offensive defence” of Union Bank’s acquisition by TTB contradicted the earlier statements made “under caution” by all those interrogated by the Special Investigator over the transaction, including Lemo himself, last August at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters in Abuja.
The Team’s invitation letter also stated that the two foreign businessmen and shareholders of TTB had shunned an earlier invitation sent to them on August 28, 2023, in which they were requested to provide certain documents and information.
It added that up till Lemo’s public “offensive defence” of TTB’s acquisition of Union Bank on Sunday, the Special Investigator never heard from the two foreign shareholders and did not receive the requested documents from them.
The invitation letter signed by DCP Eloho Okpoziakpo, Head of Operations, Office of the Special Investigator, and dated December 24, 2023, therefore, warned Lemo to inform both foreign shareholders of TTB to come along to the Thursday “meeting” with all the documents/information requested from them since August.
It also informed the TTB Chairman that he’ll be expected to make “additional statements” during the Thursday meeting with the Special Investigator.
The team, however, warned Lemo that if both Vink and Savara failed to honour Thursday’s invitation and provide/defend the requested documents/information, they’ll be deemed to have “decided to forfeit their purported shareholdings in TTB and Union Bank of Nigeria, irrespective of which vehicle that they are using to own the purported shares.”
It further warned the TTB Chairman not to also fail to attend the meeting physically “to provide additional statements to your earlier statements made in August 2023,” adding that should he decide to stay away, “It will be construed that you misled the Nigerian public with your reaction in the Punch newspapers today which has gained wide publicity in both electronic and print media.
“This invitation is to further ensure that it is beyond reasonable doubt that the Federal Government of Nigeria has given you a fair hearing.”
The Team of the Special Investigator had in its earlier invitation to Vink, one of the foreign shareholders of TTB, requested him to avail the Special Investigator with the underlisted document/information:
i) Company registration, ownership, shareholding structure, profile, particulars of directors and related activities with regard to the two companies owned by Vink and Savara that acquired the controlling shares in Union Bank.
A) Luxis International DMCC, Dubai, UAE
B) Magna International DMCC, Dubai, UAE
It added that “further details of the said company should include the documentation that led to the licensing of Titan Trust Bank and the acquisition of controlling shareholding of the Union Bank of Nigeria by these entities, proof of funds, internationally verifiable bank statements (from inception of the entities to date) and the shareholders that gave interest-free loans to the two entities separately (names, nationality, source of the fund, proof of such funds, bank statements) as well as the relationships of the activities with Mr Andrew Chukwudi Ojei, Jerome Olagunju Shogbon, Rahul Savara, Winston Odeh, Adaeze Udensi, Ekene Samuel Louis, Godwin Emefiele, Macombe Omoile, Tunde Lemo, Mudassir Amry, Faruk Gumel, Oluremi Oni, Vink Corporation Middle East FCZ (together with the details of the shareholder that also gave Vink Corporation interest-free loan) and your good self.
iii) Details of how Trust receipts (from Standard Chartered Bank), Zenith Nigeria Plc and Zenith Nigeria Plc and Zenith Bank (UK) was involved in the entire arrangements
iv) Minutes of the Board meetings, copy of the audited financial statements and Management letter that arose from the audit of the financial statements of the entities listed in (i) above as well as those of TTB and UBN from 2018 to date.
v) Details of any forbearance received from the Central Bank of Nigeria for UBN (before acquisition by TTB) and why. Should you not know, please, come along with anyone who knows about it (with evidence).
vi) Details of the loan capital from Afrexim Bank (Egypt), collaterals thereto and the involvement of the CBN in the entire arrangement.
vii) Any foreign exchange dealings that transacted with the CBN as retail or wholesale or facilitator with TGI, TTB, UBN, Luxis, Magna and other related entities, no matter how remotely connected.
viii) Any other document(s) that can assist the Special Investigator in arriving at an informed decision on the investigations of TTB, UBN, CBN and any other person(s) of interest in the entire arrangement.
5) You are to come along with Mr Rahul Savara (in person) along with the requested documents to the National Headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja by 4pm on Friday 1st September 2023 for interaction in connection with the investigation.
However, a coalition of 259 anti-corruption, civil society and human rights groups, Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER) has urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the matter involving Lemo and the two foreign businessmen is not swept under the carpet.
COTER said it envisaged the plan by Lemo and the two foreign businessmen not to honour the invitation by the Special Investigator.
It stressed that the President must initiate moves to recover the country’s stolen funds and properties being held by all indicted persons.
The coalition restated its earlier call on President Tinubu to order the immediate handing over of all the indicted persons and entities to the anti-graft agencies for immediate trial.
COTER again warned the indicted persons to stop playing on the collective intelligence of Nigerians with their puerile defence of their looting of the nation’s commonwealth, having betrayed the confidence Nigerians reposed in them while they occupied public offices.
COTER’s President, Dr Peter Chima Chukwu and General Secretary, Mallam Auta Ibrahim Koko, restated that the defence of the heists by various indicted persons should be completely disregarded.
COTER said: “President Tinubu must not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet, Nigerian people and the international community are watching to see the outcome of all the investigations and how the report of the Special Investigator will be implemented.”
