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ICYMI: Providus Bank CEO Walter Akpani Denies Alleged Arrest By EFCC

Published

11 months ago

Jan 27, 2024.

Editor’s note: An earlier report on this website incorrectly claimed that the Providus Bank CEO was arrested in connection with an alleged fraud. We have since retracted the story after discovering new information.

Reports circulated on January 9 that the Providus Bank CEO and his counterparts in two other banks were arrested.
The reports said they were facing questions over their alleged involvement in fraud.
However, the EFCC only requested documents from the bank CEOs to probe alleged fraudulent transactions.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Providus Bank, Mr. Walter Akpani, has debunked reports claiming his arrest by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr. Akpani’s disclaimer is contained in a statement issued by his lawyers at Babalakin and Co Legal Practitioners.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu recently suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, over alleged misappropriation of funds in her office.

The president directed the EFCC to investigate the allegations and the CEOs of Zenith, Providus, and Jaiz banks were reportedly asked to cooperate in the investigation, which led to them being questioned.

However, the Providus Bank CEO’s attorneys said their client was neither arrested, nor detained by the EFCC on account of the ongoing investigation.

They also noted that Mr. Akpani has assisted the EFCC with all the information and documents in Providus Bank’s possession to aid the discovery of truth and to exonerate itself.

Providus Bank CEO, Mr. Walter Akpani

“We write on behalf of our client, Providus Bank Limited, whose attention has been drawn to the mendacious news report being circulated by some orthodox news sources and on online/social media about a purported arrest of its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Walter Akpani, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday 9th January, 2024, in connection with the ongoing investigation at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation,” the statement reads.

“We wish to make clear that Mr. Akpani was neither arrested, nor detained by the EFCC on account of the ongoing investigation, or in respect of any other matter being investigated by the EFCC.

“He is not the subject of any EFCC investigation either in his capacity as aprivate law-abiding citizen or as the MD/CEO of our client, ProvidusBank Limited.

“We also wish to make clear that our client has thus far, assisted the EFCC with all the information and documents in its possession to aid the discovery of truth and to exonerate itself.”

Mr. Akpani assured the general public, Providus Bank’s customers, and stakeholders of the bank’s commitment to transparency, good corporate governance, and the promotion of global best practices in the Nigerian banking sector.

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