ATTEMPTS by Capital Oil boss, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba to extricate himself from allegations of involvement in the subsidy scam saga may have taken a turn for the worse as agencies involved in the investigations appear to be taking steps to tighten the noose around him.
Agencies involved in the investigation of the 43 billion naira scam include the Nigeria Police, a British court in London and the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria.
The latest developments come barely twenty four hours after the police authorities issued a report indicting him of involvement in the subsidy scam.
A London court which forfeited Uba’s asset worldwide has refused to vacate its order even as AMCON has appealed ruling in favor of the oil chief.
The order had frozen assets of the oil mogul put at about one hundred and thirty three million dollars due to debt owed bankers, a development said to have strengthened AMCON in its ongoing case against Uba.
Reports also reveal that more marketers are deserting the embattled oil chief with hints that they have accepted to review their operational practices, alongside refunding the government of outstanding funds.
Some of the marketers were reported to be unhappy with attempts by Uba to use the National Assembly in a matter they describe as a business relationship involving the law courts and anti-corruption agencies.
One of the marketers told our correspondent that Mr. Uba’s desperation, as opposed to cooperating with government investigations, is complicating the situation.
“Uba’s desperation is worsening the issue as Nigerians already know the facts and no amount of public hearing can save the day. The option we have is to cooperate with the Federal Government.”
According to the text of a police report into the matter, “Capital Oil and Gas Limited forged documents, made fraudulent representations, obtained by fake pretences and stole federal Government money by claiming monies paid on these fraudulent presentations.”
“Import duty certifications, bill of ladings, Letters of Credits (LCs)/Form Ms and other documents were perfected with the active connivance of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), bank officials, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other port authorities clearing agencies,” read the report.
The police also noted that these fraudulent practices were formatted from the point of ship to ship transactions involving mother vessel and daughter vessel documentations, cargo quantity inflation and other underhand practices perfected to undermine transparency in the petroleum subsidy payment process.
The report concluded that to establish a prima facie case against the suspects, it would be necessary to obtain details of all the transactions from the Federal Ministry of Finance from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to obtain the financial instruments, as the original documents that were forged would be needed to establish forgery.
It went further to allege that the “response of the suspect (Ubah) confirmed the concern of the presidential committee and investigation team,” adding that it was on this note that it became necessary to detain the suspect for further interrogation.
Feelers from the police indicate that the investigation has been extended to cover Uba and Capital Oil accounts in other banks other than Access Bank even as oil chief is said to have been put under surveillance to prevent him from escaping from the country.
- Courtesy: AfricanExaminer.com