Unity Bank Plc is in a N3.4 billion ($21.067 million) foreign exchange tangle with its former Managing Director, Alhaji Falalu Bello, now Executive Chairman at MBS Merchants Limited.
The bank in a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is alleging that Falalu Bello unilaterally approved for his company the said amount to import fertilizer for which he is now foot-dragging payment.
Irked by this development, the management of Unity Bank petitioned the CBN over the matter alleging violation of corporate governance by the former managing director.
The petition sighted by Financial Vanguard and signed by Ahmed Yusuf, Acting Executive Director, Enterprise Risk Management and Umar M. Adamu, Divisional Head, Legal and Compliance, with Ref. No UB/L&C/UMNHJSIMB5FB/02l14,dated 3rdFebruary, 2014, to the Governor of CBN said: “We hereby humbly write to bring to your notice instances of Violation of Code of Corporate Governance. Sometime between June to September 2013, three Deferred Letters of Credit(LCs) totalling $21,067,500.00 were opened in favour of MBS Merchants Limited(the Company). Particulars of the LCs are as follows (see table):
S/N. LC No. LC Value Confirming Bank Beneficiary
1. UB/13ILC/056 $10,500.000.00 Deutsche Bank Platinum
2. UB/13ILC/064 $5.305,500.00 FBN London Platinum
3. UB/1L 1068 $5,262,000.00 FBN London
TOTAL- $21 ,067 ,500.00
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/unity-bank-n3-4bn-tangle-ex-md-falalu-bello/