Emefiele illegally opened 593 illegal bank accounts in UK, US, China – Investigation report

The ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been accused of unlawfully depositing billions of naira in approximately 593 bank accounts located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

According to Jim Obaze, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Investigator, Emefiele initiated the opening of these bank accounts without obtaining the necessary approval from the CBN’s Board of Directors and Investment Committee. Obaze revealed that Emefiele placed ₦543,482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone, all without proper authorization.

This information was disclosed in Obaze’s final report titled ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable Offences),’ which was submitted to Tinubu.

The report states, “The former governor of the CBN invested Nigeria’s money without authorization in 593 foreign accounts in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom while he was in charge. All the accounts where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator. In the UK alone, Emefiele kept £543,482,213 in fixed deposits without authorization by the CBN board and the Investment Committee of the bank.”

Emefiele is currently in Kuje prison, facing charges of alleged ₦1.2 billion procurement fraud. Although the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, granted him bail in the amount of ₦300 million, he has not been able to fulfill the bail conditions.