{"id":113027,"date":"2024-07-06T06:58:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-06T05:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=113027"},"modified":"2024-07-06T06:58:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-06T05:58:05","slug":"group-gives-efcc-7-day-ultimatum-to-probe-jim-ovia-for-corporate-malfeasance-and-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/group-gives-efcc-7-day-ultimatum-to-probe-jim-ovia-for-corporate-malfeasance-and-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Gives EFCC 7-Day Ultimatum To Probe Jim Ovia For Corporate Malfeasance and Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
A civil society organization, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, for alleged corporate malfeasance, insider bank fraud, and money laundering.<\/div>\n
\n
\nIn a petition signed by Leticia Omeiza, Publicity Officer of GICN, the organisation accused Ovia of committing various atrocities during his tenure as Managing Director\/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, including laundering N3.5 billion on behalf of the Rivers State Government in 2008.<\/p>\n

GICN also alleged that Ovia has continued to engage in fraudulent activities as Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, including the unlawful use of the accounts of Seaforce Shipping Limited to trade and divert funds into personal use.<\/p>\n

The organisation attached documents to support its claims, including bank statements and a letter from the auditors of Seaforce Shipping Limited.<\/p>\n

GICN has urged the EFCC to arrest and prosecute Ovia and his accomplices, and to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to dissolve the Board and Management of Zenith Bank Plc.<\/p>\n

The organisation has given the EFCC a 7-day ultimatum to act on its demands, threatening to take legal action and mobilize the media and other sister organizations to occupy the EFCC office in Abuja if the commission fails to act.<\/p>\n

“It is a well known fact that Mr. Jim Ovia committed several atrocities when he held sway as the Managing Director\/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc (1990 to 10th July, 2010),” the petition partly reads.<\/p>\n

“These atrocities were so heavy that Nigeria is yet to recover from the economic losses caused it, coupled with the image of the country that was terribly dented in the eyes of international observers.<\/p>\n

“We recall how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) then under the leadership of Mrs. Farida Waziri on 18th December, 2008 arrested Mr. Ovia in connection with laundering the sum of N3.5 Billion on behalf of Rivers State Government.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, this money laundering case was never pursued till conclusion because of interference from top government officials at that time. We maintain that the aforementioned case can still be reopened, as there is no statutory limitation for arresting and or prosecuting money launderers in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

“Jim Ovia’s fraudulent actions multiplied following his appointment as Chairman, Board of Directors of Zenith Bank Plc in July, 2014. Granted, Zenith Bank Plc is acclaimed to be one of Africa\u2019s largest banks with over $21.4 Billion in assets and shareholders\u2019 funds of over US$2.4 Billion as at December 2023.<\/p>\n

“It is a global brand listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In addition to major operations in Nigeria and other West African countries, the Bank has sizeable operations in London and Dubai.<\/p>\n

“We wish to however draw the attention of EFCC to the fact that some of these figures and achievements touted by the Bank are concocted to deceive the general public. The truth is that Jim Ovia specializes in illegally feeding fat on funds deposited with his Bank to the detriment of customers.<\/p>\n

“Just recently, the media was agog with news of how Zenith Bank Plc in 2011 unlawfully used the accounts of Seaforce Shipping Limited owned by Nigerian oil magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola to carry out transactions running into Billions of Niara trade without authorization.<\/p>\n

” Jim Ovia and his cronies must refund any funds fraudulently diverted from the accounts of Seaforce Shipping Limited, Femi Otedola and other unsuspecting customers of Zenith Bank Plc since its inception.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A civil society organization, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, for alleged corporate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nGroup Gives EFCC 7-Day Ultimatum To Probe Jim Ovia For Corporate Malfeasance and Fraud - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/group-gives-efcc-7-day-ultimatum-to-probe-jim-ovia-for-corporate-malfeasance-and-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Group Gives EFCC 7-Day Ultimatum To Probe Jim Ovia For Corporate Malfeasance and Fraud - 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