Contrary to the social media report, the Heritage Bank Plc is not under investigation by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The social media had alleged that the operatives of the commission raided the head office of the bank in Lagos on Tuesday, claiming that an official of the bank was arrested while the commission did not state any reason for its action.
But The Daily Times investigation has revealed that it is only one of the accounts in the bank that is subject of enquiry by the operatives of the EFCC.
The said account was one of the accounts acquired by the Heritage Bank during its acquisition of Enterprise Bank from AMCON.
It is also instructive to note that the former Enterprise Bank held several accounts of federal government agencies before its acquisition.
It was further gathered that the operatives of the commission are seeking certain information on the said account, following a petition over certain issues on the account.
The development is what is known in the industry as acquisition/combination issues. The newspaper also gathered that any contentious issues on banks will be handled by the regulatory Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while the EFCC will deal with issues arising from infraction in banking transactions.
When contacted, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, declined to give details on the matter, saying that he is yet to be briefed on the issue.
