Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has expressed his belief that the visit by operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Lagos headquarters of the Dangote Group in January was intended to embarrass his company. In an interview with Bloomberg, which was monitored on Tuesday, Dangote stated, “They visited the office but didn’t talk to anybody, nor did they arrest anyone. It was just to cause embarrassment.”
The EFCC’s visit was part of a broader investigation into allegations of preferential foreign exchange allocations to the Dangote Group and 51 other companies under the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria during the tenure of former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Despite the challenges posed by the investigation, Dangote asserted that the operations of his company remain “100 percent clean,” highlighting its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy. He noted that the Dangote Group is recognized as the highest-paying organization in Nigeria, contributing more in taxes than the entire banking sector.
Earlier, the EFCC had written to the 52 companies involved, requesting documentation to support the allocation and utilization of foreign exchange sold to them at official rates over the past decade. The commission instructed the firms to submit Form A and Form M, detailing forex allocations from 2014 to June 2023.
While some companies complied with the EFCC’s directive, several others requested additional time to gather the necessary documents. However, a Dangote official insisted that the company had already honored the EFCC’s requests and questioned the need for the agency’s subsequent visit.
“We don’t know why they (EFCC officials) came to our office again; we had earlier been invited to the EFCC’s office. As such, the Dangote officials took along all the documents and submitted them. We don’t understand why they ultimately decided to visit our office again,” the official stated. “They left with empty hands because all the documents they needed had already been provided.”
Prior to the EFCC raid, Dangote Industries had denied allegations of forex malpractices and money laundering involving a staggering $3.4 billion, purportedly facilitated by Emefiele. The company refuted claims that funds were funneled to its non-Nigerian subsidiaries, which could lead to illicit financial flows and round-tripping.
In its defense, Dangote Industries referred to past approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2010 and 2018, which allowed the company to purchase forex totaling $3.755 billion for projects across Africa, of which only 47.70 percent was utilized.
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