There are questions surrounding Titan Trust Bank’s source of funds for the acquisition of Union Bank Plc.
Recall that Titan Trust Bank had acquired 93.4 per cent stake in the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
Announcement by pan-African multilateral financial institution Afreximbank on June 6 2022, that it disbursed the sum of $300 million to help complement the total amount needed by Titan Trust Bank to finalise the acquisition of Union Bank has however sparked off questions, as the circumstances surrounding the funds released has now become an issue of investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Sahara Reporters, those being investigated include the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; and the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah.
Others being investigated are; Aminu Yaro, a Northern business mogul and one Farouk Gumel.
Sahara Reporters also stated that the Department of State Services (DSS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) are all investigating Oramah, Emefiele and others.
“EFCC, DSS and NFIU are currently investigating Oramah over the loan given to Titan Trust Bank. Why give the loan to Emefiele and others political exposed person? Though we believe nothing will happen to him because of his closeness to Mamman Daura. He just bought a house for Mamman Daura at George Street, off Edgware Road in London,” Sahara Reporters quoted a senior intelligence officer to have said.
On June 6 2022, when Afreximbank announced that it had disbursed the sum of $300 million to help complement the total amount needed by Titan Trust Bank to finalise the acquisition of Union Bank, it noted that the said fund was disbursed under its Intra-African Investment Financing Facility.
However, the source who spoke with Sahara Reporters linked the ownership of the controversial Titan Trust Bank to Emefiele.
The bank was established on the 12th of December, 2018 and started operating fully as a commercial national bank after obtaining its National Banking license on the 26th of April, 2019.
In 2019, it recorded a profit of N644 million, and in 2020, its after-tax profit rose to N2.9 billion.
However, the 2021 audited financial statement of the bank showed it now worth over N3 trillion with only two active offices in Lagos.
“Isn’t it magical that Titan Trust Bank, a small bank with only two bank branches in Lagos swallowed up Union Bank, a 104-year-old bank, in a transaction valued in the region of over $1 billion dollars?
“The President of Afreximbank, Oramah, Emefiele, Yaro and others are friends.
“If you need Dollar from CBN today, go through Uba Sanni, the Kaduna APC gubernatorial candidate, Sabiu Tunde or Aminu Yaro. This same Aminu Yaro is one of the shareholders of Titan Trust Bank. He owns 9.07 per cent of Titan Trust’s 58.4 million ordinary shares. His wife works with CBN too.
“Don’t forget this same Titan bank just bought Union Bank, We all know Emefiele is the actual owner of it, even though he is using Tropical General Investments Limited (TGI) as front.
“Afrexim is aware that Emefiele, Yaro, and Farouk Gumel are political exposed people, yet granted them loan of such amount to buy Union bank,” the source told SaharaReporters.
“Are you aware Titan Trust Bank’s National Banking Licence is the first that the CBN has granted in the last ten years? Are you aware Emefiele is also among the highest shareholders in Union Bank Plc?, ” Sahara Reporters quoted another source to have added.
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