A serving northern governor is under investigation for allegedly changing N300million to dollars and ‘blowing’ it under one hour.
He allegedly exchanged the cash to lobby party leaders for governorship ticket.
According to findings, the recklessness of the governor was allegedly spotted through financial intelligence.
It was gathered that the governor had approached Bureau De Change in Abuja for the change of Naira for the dollars.
It was learnt that he opted for foreign exchange to avoid the movement of the bribe sum being trailed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to investigation, it was learnt that the operators of the
Bureau De Change were also shocked by the huge exchange transaction by the governor.
A top source, who knew about the sleaze, said: “It is just unfortunate that a serving governor exchanged N300million for dollars in Abuja to lobby some party leaders for governorship ticket.
“After getting the dollars, he met with some officials of a party in order to sway the ‘final’ decision of the party in his favour. After about an hour, the cash was already disbursed.
“But he has forgotten that the electorate will determine his fate, not naira or dollars. His predecessor spent the same way and lost out with the party.”
Another reliable source added: “Due to the curious nature of the transactions, the Bureau De Change operators became suspicious and raised the alarm. The operators were jittery because they could be held accountable by anti-graft commissions if the deal is uncovered.”
An anti-graft agent said since the transactions were traceable, the allegation against governor was being looked into.
The agent said: “The suspicious transactions by the governor are already being looked into. All the processes will be trailed, no hiding place for anyone again. We will also expose the beneficiaries of the illicit transactions to the relevant agencies for probe. So, the said transaction is certainly under investigation.”
The Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, had in January at a sensitisation workshop in Abuja, warned Bureau de Change operators against abetting money laundering by desperate politicians seeking election in 2015.
He said in part: “You have to realise that the nature of your illicit transactions facilitates money laundering and terrorism financing.
“With the situation politically, we have to be very careful with the kind of money that either comes into the country or goes out of the country and the avenue used is mostly the Bureau De Change operators
“We believe engaging them is key to what we are doing. Moving forward, they will have to comply with the law. If not, they will be sanctioned or prosecuted.”
Source: The Nation
