Deposit Money Banks in the country are lobbying the Office of
the Attorney General of the Federation to back down on the plan by
the Federal Government to seize monies in the bank accounts of
customers without the Bank Verification Number, it has been
learnt.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the forfeiture of all
monies in bank accounts owned by corporate organisations,
government agencies and individuals without the BVN.
The forfeiture order, which was issued by Justice Dimgba Igwe,
while ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Federal
Government through the Office of the Attorney General of the
Federation, is not final yet.
The owners of the accounts had 14 days to claim ownership of
same and show cause why the amounts in them should not be
permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The court also ordered the banks to advertise the accounts
without the BVN in a widely circulated national newspaper as notice
to those who might have any interest in them.
The court gave the order on October 17 following an application
that was filed on September 28.
Justice Dimgba adjourned until November 16 for the hearing of
the substantive application seeking the forfeiture of the sums in
the accounts without the BVN.
The judge ordered the banks to file an affidavit of disclosure
before the court, showing the names of the affected accounts, the
account numbers, outstanding balances, domiciliary accounts and the
bank branches where the accounts were domiciled.
The court directed that the order be equally served on the
Central Bank of Nigeria.
Our correspondent gathered on Sunday that although the banks had
started compiling the lists of accounts without the BVN, they were
not in a hurry to publish the details of such accounts, especially
before the November 16 scheduled for the substantive hearing on the
case.
The executive director of one of the banks, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said, “The banks are lobbying the AGF; we
hope to get them to understand why they should not carry out such
an order. This money belongs to private people. Why will the
government seize what belongs to them?
“Most of the customers who have yet to comply have one reason or
the other for not doing so. Some are abroad; some don’t have the
time to link the BVN to all their bank accounts; some have issues
relating to estate and the need to get a letter of
administration.”
The ED noted that such an action might send a wrong signal to
foreign investors and the international community.
The chief executive officer of a mid-size bank told our
correspondent that the government had no business asking private
depositors to forfeit their funds for failing to obtain the
BVN.
The CEO said, “If you cannot prove that the proceeds in such
accounts are from illegal sources, then it is shameful for the
government to do that. Government knows how to trace those accounts
with monies that are proceeds of crime. Government cannot just
seize private funds. It will create confidence crisis and several
legal battles. We are talking to them as a group and we hope that
the government will get to understand us.
“Some people have been outside the country for some time now.
There are not enough centres overseas to enable them obtain the BVN
there. Some have issues relating to estate. Some don’t have time to
link the BVN to their bank accounts.”
Named as defendants in the suit are Access Bank Plc, Citi Bank
Nigeria, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc,
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty
Trust Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Plc.
Other banks are Keystone Bank, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank
Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity
Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and the CBN.
An industry stakeholder, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, had said there was
a need for the Federal Government to give more time to enable rural
dwellers to comply with the BVN requirement.
According to him, most of the learned bank customers have
complied, and the majority of those who have yet to comply are
illiterate people dwelling in the rural places.
He stated that the CBN needed to communicate through local
languages in order to get the rural dwellers to comply.
“Another category of people who have not complied are those who
opened the bank accounts with fictitious names, or those who got
their money through illegal or criminal proceeds, and will not want
to come up to claim ownership of such accounts. These people
constitute the highest amount in terms of the value of the money,”
he added.
Some bank officials said there were certain accounts that the
institutions could not link up due to names mismatch.
The President, United Labour Congress, Mr. Joe Ajaero, faulted
the court order asking the CBN to freeze all bank accounts without
the BVN.
He said, “I do not agree with the court. The court should have
taken into consideration that most owners of those accounts have
not been around to register for the BVN, or are incapacitated to do
so now.
“We are aware that a good number of the account bearers have
been out of the country and cannot get the BVN until they return,
while others have been indisposed over the years due to severe
health challenges.
“The right thing would have been an order asking the banks to
suspend the operation of such accounts pending when the BVN will be
allocated to the accounts.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe, had said
though the Federal Government should be commended for the BVN
policy, it was unconstitutional for citizens to be ordered to
forfeit their money over failure to supply the number.
Adedipe said, “I think the objective of the BVN policy is to
enable the government to track accounts and individuals who own
them. If we are serious about fighting money laundering and
financial crimes, I think that is a commendable step.
Another SAN, Mr. Seni Adio, had expressed reservation about the
order, saying there was a question mark on its
constitutionality.
Deposit Money Banks in the country are lobbying the Office of
the Attorney General of the Federation to back down on the plan by
the Federal Government to seize monies in the bank accounts of
customers without the Bank Verification Number, it has been
learnt.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the forfeiture of all
monies in bank accounts owned by corporate organisations,
government agencies and individuals without the BVN.
The forfeiture order, which was issued by Justice Dimgba Igwe,
while ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Federal
Government through the Office of the Attorney General of the
Federation, is not final yet.
The owners of the accounts had 14 days to claim ownership of
same and show cause why the amounts in them should not be
permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The court also ordered the banks to advertise the accounts
without the BVN in a widely circulated national newspaper as notice
to those who might have any interest in them.
The court gave the order on October 17 following an application
that was filed on September 28.
Justice Dimgba adjourned until November 16 for the hearing of
the substantive application seeking the forfeiture of the sums in
the accounts without the BVN.
The judge ordered the banks to file an affidavit of disclosure
before the court, showing the names of the affected accounts, the
account numbers, outstanding balances, domiciliary accounts and the
bank branches where the accounts were domiciled.
The court directed that the order be equally served on the
Central Bank of Nigeria.
Our correspondent gathered on Sunday that although the banks had
started compiling the lists of accounts without the BVN, they were
not in a hurry to publish the details of such accounts, especially
before the November 16 scheduled for the substantive hearing on the
case.
The executive director of one of the banks, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said, “The banks are lobbying the AGF; we
hope to get them to understand why they should not carry out such
an order. This money belongs to private people. Why will the
government seize what belongs to them?
“Most of the customers who have yet to comply have one reason or
the other for not doing so. Some are abroad; some don’t have the
time to link the BVN to all their bank accounts; some have issues
relating to estate and the need to get a letter of
administration.”
The ED noted that such an action might send a wrong signal to
foreign investors and the international community.
The chief executive officer of a mid-size bank told our
correspondent that the government had no business asking private
depositors to forfeit their funds for failing to obtain the
BVN.
The CEO said, “If you cannot prove that the proceeds in such
accounts are from illegal sources, then it is shameful for the
government to do that. Government knows how to trace those accounts
with monies that are proceeds of crime. Government cannot just
seize private funds. It will create confidence crisis and several
legal battles. We are talking to them as a group and we hope that
the government will get to understand us.
“Some people have been outside the country for some time now.
There are not enough centres overseas to enable them obtain the BVN
there. Some have issues relating to estate. Some don’t have time to
link the BVN to their bank accounts.”
Named as defendants in the suit are Access Bank Plc, Citi Bank
Nigeria, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc,
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty
Trust Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Plc.
Other banks are Keystone Bank, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank
Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity
Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and the CBN.
An industry stakeholder, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, had said there was
a need for the Federal Government to give more time to enable rural
dwellers to comply with the BVN requirement.
According to him, most of the learned bank customers have
complied, and the majority of those who have yet to comply are
illiterate people dwelling in the rural places.
He stated that the CBN needed to communicate through local
languages in order to get the rural dwellers to comply.
“Another category of people who have not complied are those who
opened the bank accounts with fictitious names, or those who got
their money through illegal or criminal proceeds, and will not want
to come up to claim ownership of such accounts. These people
constitute the highest amount in terms of the value of the money,”
he added.
Some bank officials said there were certain accounts that the
institutions could not link up due to names mismatch.
The President, United Labour Congress, Mr. Joe Ajaero, faulted
the court order asking the CBN to freeze all bank accounts without
the BVN.
He said, “I do not agree with the court. The court should have
taken into consideration that most owners of those accounts have
not been around to register for the BVN, or are incapacitated to do
so now.
“We are aware that a good number of the account bearers have
been out of the country and cannot get the BVN until they return,
while others have been indisposed over the years due to severe
health challenges.
“The right thing would have been an order asking the banks to
suspend the operation of such accounts pending when the BVN will be
allocated to the accounts.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe, had said
though the Federal Government should be commended for the BVN
policy, it was unconstitutional for citizens to be ordered to
forfeit their money over failure to supply the number.
Adedipe said, “I think the objective of the BVN policy is to
enable the government to track accounts and individuals who own
them. If we are serious about fighting money laundering and
financial crimes, I think that is a commendable step.
Another SAN, Mr. Seni Adio, had expressed reservation about the
order, saying there was a question mark on its
constitutionality.
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/bvn-banks-move-to-stop-deposit-forfeiture-lobby-agf/