Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has accused Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, of illicitly using an account belonging to his company, Seaforce Shipping Limited, to trade in 2011 without his authorization.

Otedola, reportedly furious over the incident, has submitted his findings to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) of the Nigerian Police. Sources familiar with the situation suggest that the bank chairman may be summoned for questioning.

BACKGROUND

Reports indicate that Seaforce’s account at Zenith Bank has been inactive since 2010 but was suspiciously used for trading.

According to the police petition, the company never applied for any loan from Zenith Bank, yet unauthorized trading worth billions of Naira took place in the account.

Mr. Otedola discovered the fraud recently after a whistleblower from the bank informed him. Transactions totaling over N16 billion have been recorded on Seaforce’s account from 2011 to date (13 years).

‘SHOCKING TRANSACTIONS’

According to Cable, a letter written on March 19, 2018, by Zenith Bank to Seaforce’s auditors, Shofolawe-Bakare & Co, indicates a debt of N2,278,420 on the account compared to a N5 billion balance in the company’s bank statements.

Curiously, on the day the letter, signed by Taofik Bashir (internal audit control) and Edwin Kind Olie (group head, telecomm), was written, the bank statement showed a debt of N2.9 billion.

The company’s account statement reflects credits of N77,169,375.00 on April 18, 2011, N119,822,762.50 on December 1, 2011, N316,537,329.30 on December 8, 2011, N266,361,181.73 on December 15, 2011, and N444,304,524.50 on December 12, 2011—transactions Otedola was unaware of.

AFTERMATH

Currently, several options are being explored to resolve the issue as Zenon, Seaforce, Luzon Oil and Gas, Garment Care Limited, and Otedola himself have secured a federal high court injunction against Zenith Bank, Quantum Zenith Securities and Investment, Veritas Registrar, and Central Securities Clearing System, restraining them from trading with shares or distributing dividends.