The panel, set up to probe the suspended Director General of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, is set to
invite nine firms alleged to have been used by him to siphon funds
from the commission.
The report of the panel is expected to be sent to the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission, which is also investigating Gwarzo.
The firms include Outbound Investment Limited, Medusa Investment
Limited, Northwind Environmental Services, Micro-Technologies
Nigeria Limited, Tida International Limited, Outlook Communication,
Acromac Nigeria Limited, Balfort International Limited and
Interactive Worldwide Nigeria Limited.
According to some petitions against Gwarzo, some of the
companies allegedly belong to him or his relatives.
In one of the petitions, it was alleged that one of the
companies, Outbound Investment Limited, is owned by the suspended
SEC boss while another firm, Medusa Investment Limited, is jointly
owned by Gwarzo and his wife, Khadija.
The petition read in part, “Mr. Gwarzo and two of his relatives
are directors of Outbound Investment Limited. Since Mr. Gwarzo
assumed office as the DG of the commission, the company has been
the sole supplier of diesel to the commission.
“The company has also supplied air conditioners to the Lagos
zonal office of the commission as well as supplied fridges to the
commission. Payments made by the commission to the company for
contracts executed can be verified from the company’s bank account
held with account number 1016723428.
“Mr. Gwarzo is also the director of Medusa Investment Limited.
The only other director of the company is Khadija Mustapher, his
wife. The company has actively been used to carry out illegal
transactions through the company’s bank account with Guaranty Trust
Bank with number 0023953920.”
In the petition, sent to the House of Representatives, Gwarzo
was accused of diverting money from the commission under the
pretext that he was organising staff training.
Some shell companies, which lacked the requisite expertise, were
alleged to have been paid bogus sums of money for the training.
The petitioner added, “Prior to Mr. Gwarzo’s tenure, the
commission used to pay between N60,000 and N150,000 to reputable
training providers such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Financial
Institutions Training Centre, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, Lagos Business School and Centre for Management
Development to train staff of the commission.
“However, when Mr. Gwarzo assumed office as SEC DG, he commenced
paying sums ranging from N700,000 to N780,000 per staff (sic) as
training fee to training institutions owned by his friends and
associates.
“Some of the training providers were disguised as reputable
foreign training organisations even when it was evident that some
of the training providers did not have any pedigree or history of
training anyone abroad.”
Gwarzo also allegedly collected the sum of N6m from the
commission to fly first-class to Hong Kong in October 2016 in total
disregard for the Federal Government’s directive issued in April
2016 in circular SGF/6/S2/X/545, which prohibited public officials
from flying first-class.
The N6m was said to have been paid into his Guaranty Trust Bank
account with number 0023868895.
The panel, set up to probe the suspended Director General of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, is set to
invite nine firms alleged to have been used by him to siphon funds
from the commission.
The report of the panel is expected to be sent to the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission, which is also investigating Gwarzo.
The firms include Outbound Investment Limited, Medusa Investment
Limited, Northwind Environmental Services, Micro-Technologies
Nigeria Limited, Tida International Limited, Outlook Communication,
Acromac Nigeria Limited, Balfort International Limited and
Interactive Worldwide Nigeria Limited.
According to some petitions against Gwarzo, some of the
companies allegedly belong to him or his relatives.
In one of the petitions, it was alleged that one of the
companies, Outbound Investment Limited, is owned by the suspended
SEC boss while another firm, Medusa Investment Limited, is jointly
owned by Gwarzo and his wife, Khadija.
The petition read in part, “Mr. Gwarzo and two of his relatives
are directors of Outbound Investment Limited. Since Mr. Gwarzo
assumed office as the DG of the commission, the company has been
the sole supplier of diesel to the commission.
“The company has also supplied air conditioners to the Lagos
zonal office of the commission as well as supplied fridges to the
commission. Payments made by the commission to the company for
contracts executed can be verified from the company’s bank account
held with account number 1016723428.
“Mr. Gwarzo is also the director of Medusa Investment Limited.
The only other director of the company is Khadija Mustapher, his
wife. The company has actively been used to carry out illegal
transactions through the company’s bank account with Guaranty Trust
Bank with number 0023953920.”
In the petition, sent to the House of Representatives, Gwarzo
was accused of diverting money from the commission under the
pretext that he was organising staff training.
Some shell companies, which lacked the requisite expertise, were
alleged to have been paid bogus sums of money for the training.
The petitioner added, “Prior to Mr. Gwarzo’s tenure, the
commission used to pay between N60,000 and N150,000 to reputable
training providers such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Financial
Institutions Training Centre, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, Lagos Business School and Centre for Management
Development to train staff of the commission.
“However, when Mr. Gwarzo assumed office as SEC DG, he commenced
paying sums ranging from N700,000 to N780,000 per staff (sic) as
training fee to training institutions owned by his friends and
associates.
“Some of the training providers were disguised as reputable
foreign training organisations even when it was evident that some
of the training providers did not have any pedigree or history of
training anyone abroad.”
Gwarzo also allegedly collected the sum of N6m from the
commission to fly first-class to Hong Kong in October 2016 in total
disregard for the Federal Government’s directive issued in April
2016 in circular SGF/6/S2/X/545, which prohibited public officials
from flying first-class.
The N6m was said to have been paid into his Guaranty Trust Bank
account with number 0023868895.
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/suspended-sec-dg-probe-panel-to-invite-nine-firms/