How EFCC allegedly froze Nairabet’s Polaris Bank account

In a series of tweets from his twitter handle, founder of Nairabet, Akin Alabi narrated how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly placed a limit on the company’s accounts, supposedly on the request of Polaris Bank Limited.

The incident, according to the Nairabet boss, has prevented him from paying staff salaries and bonuses.

Alabi tweeted that:

Between @NairaBET, @PolarisBankLtd & @officialEFCC.

So we (@NairaBET) have this account we keep at Polaris. It’s where we save money to pay salaries at the end of the month.

After paying salaries, we grow it to about N40m so we can meet the following month’s payroll.#thread

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

We decided to pay December salary before Christmas. Our plan was to pay annual bonus (half of monthly salary) on the 31st.

At the point of making the transfer, it failed. We tried multiple times and it kept failing. So we contacted the bank.

That was when the saga started.

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

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Polaris Bank told us there was a demand by EFCC that a PND (post no debit) be placed on our account. We discovered that it was placed about two weeks earlier.

So we asked our account officer what to do. He said he wasn’t sure. He asked if I knew anyone at EFCC so I could know.

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

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I said (lied) that I don’t know anyone. I asked if there is a letter from EFCC to show me this so I can understand what is going on. I was told the letter was directed to them so I couldn’t have it.

I asked Polaris why they didn’t send us any letter about this so we could act.

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

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No response. We were advised to to go to EFCC Kaduna (we gathered that the issue started from there)

When I get to EFCC, what will I say? What’s the reference number of the case? Do I just go to the gates of EFCC to announce that my bank said something without any documentation?

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

So we waited for the Xmas and Boxing Day holiday to be over.

I contacted my lawyers and they accompanied our COO to the Lagos office of EFCC this morning.

I am in Ibadan campaigning but the messages sent to me now is that @PolarisBankLtd contacted EFCC to limit our account.

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018

Head or tail, the Nairabet Founder has vowed to end his dealings with the bank

Now I still haven’t paid December salary not to talk of annual bonus. I’m working on that though using other accounts.

I will update when there is progress but what I know for sure is that I’m done with @PolarisBankLtd.

— Oloye Akin Alabi (@akinalabi) December 27, 2018