Secret Reporters No place to hide
Few days after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the world how Skye Bank connived with former Nigeria First Lady, Patience Jonathan to hide $31 million, Secret Reporters can report authoritatively that the bank is a haven of corrupt men and bank fraudsters, who not only connived to dupe the country but its citizens.
Officers and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have raised alarm over what they described as fraudulent activities between the corps account/finance department and management of Skye Bank.
Insiders within the security agency revealed that all the staffs in Headquarters were forced to open their salary account with Skye Bank in a shady deal allegedly agreed upon between the bank and the corps top management, which resulted to over ninety percent of officers and men of NSCDC having their salary accounts with Skye Bank.
Our sources within the bank who spoke to us under condition of anonymity disclosed that they have been having a running battle with Skye Bank as the management refused changing of salary accounts to other banks, like their counterparts in other states.
”Our accounts and finance departments in Abuja are conniving with management of Skye Bank to defraud us.
”Skye Bank does not grant us credit facilities yet they would not allow NSCDC officers change to other banks that could offer facilities. Why are Skyebank management and NSCDC headquarters forcing us to remain with them?, one of them lamented.
The officers added that the refusal for accounts change connotes some elements of fraud been covered.
”We all have our salary accounts with Skye Bank yet we benefit nothing from the bank. No loan facilities, no credit facilities and officers are not allowed to move their account to other banks that are offering loan and credit facilities”, they said.
Secret Reporters reliably gathered that despite refusal for account salary change, NSCDC headquarters deduct varied sum from officers and men depending on ranks, like an ASC II, about Ten Thousand Naira monthly. ”They fraudulently deduct officers’ salaries monthly without any explanation for over 8 months”, aggrieved officers further disclosed.
This money when deducted is shared with the Executive Directors of Skye Bank and some corrupt officials within NSCDC. A senior staff alleged that the bank has a secret account number opened for these corrupt officials trough which they pay the proceeds of what is deducted from the corps officials and withdrawn by those mandated to do so.
Calls put across to Mr Bolarinwa who is Skye Bank Corporate Affairs Manager were not picked, neither did he respond to text message sent to him.
Speaking to Secret Reporters, Mr Emma, the NSCDC Public Relations Officer waved aside the allegations. He explained that it is practically impossible for the agency to do such in an era when staff are paid directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria coffers and implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
According to him, it is normal that establishment have their preferred banks for the ease for preparing vouchers which the agency owes the staff but do not force then to bank with any. He further narrated how some staff obtain loans from bank such as car or house loan and refuse to pay. These staff who think they are smart approach another bank for similar facilities, forgetting that they signed undertaking with the bank they got the first loan from to deduct some percentage of money from their salaries once they are paid, which is what the bank does.
