Lawmakers Summon Banks, Others Over $30bn Forex Racketeering

The Joint House of Representatives committees on finance; banking and currency will on Monday begin an investigative hearing into an alleged forex racketeering.

To this effect, the panel has summoned 24 banks and 14 oil companies, according to a notice and schedule of the event which our correspondent obtained on Sunday.

According to the House, the alleged racketeering is responsible for an annual loss of over $30bn in revenue.

Those appearing before the committees are to explain their roles in the alleged over $30bn revenue leakages from foreign currency dominated contracts in engineering, procurement, construction, installation and marine transportations.

According to the panel, which is jointly chaired by James Faleke (finance) and Victor Nwokolo (banking and currency), the investigative hearing would be conducted in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.

The panel said the hearing would be conducted in phases, with the first phase lasting three weeks.

The House had on March 5, 2020 resolved to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Inland Revenue Service over alleged racketeering in the allocation of foreign exchange to companies.

The House, which said the leakages were causing the Federal Government to lose revenue worth over $30bn, had also resolved to probe commercial banks, forex dealers, importers and beneficiary companies.

Faleke had moved a motion of urgent public importance, calling for a probe into the forex allocation process.

The House had consequently directed the committees on finance and banking and currency to “conduct public hearing by looking into the various originating documents maintained by the CBN, banks, forex dealers, FIRS, importers and other beneficiary companies.”

The committees are also to identify the ‘perpetrators and the atrocities committed based on verifiable documents obtained from the valuable records’.