ICPC Storms Sterling Bank Head Office, Discovers Hoarded N250 Million, Arrests Managers

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has stormed the Abuja Head Office of Sterling Bank, where it discovered N258 million stashed in the vaults of a bank amid the ongoing cash scarcity rocking the nation.

Naija News reports that the burst was made known in a statement on Tuesday by the spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, Azuka Ogugua.

The ICPC stated that the money, all new naira notes, was found in the vault of Sterling Bank.

Ogugua said: “Operatives of ICPC discovered the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty-Eight Million Naira (N258m) stashed in the vault at the head office of Sterling Bank in Abuja.”

She said investigation showed that the money was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for distribution but Sterling Bank only released the sum of N5 million each to be distributed to their various branches.

She said both the Regional and Service managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while investigation continues.

The ICPC official added that the Commission has also effected the arrest of the Head of Operations, Keystone Bank, Mararaba in Nasarawa State for frustrating its customers at getting the new Naira notes.

She said the ICPC team, while on its routine operation, found out that the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at the branch were not dispensing to its customers, while other bank customers were accessing only One Thousand Naira.

“It was only after the arrest was made and clarification received from CBN that the position of the officers of the Bank was not correct, that the ATMs started dispensing Five Thousand Naira to non-customers and Ten Thousand Naira to its customers,” she said.