E-Financial
$3.4Bn Forex Fraud: CSO Alleges Death Threats on Obazee, Others over Probe
Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER), pro-transparency group, has raised the alarm on a thick plot to derail the ongoing probe by the Federal Government into illegal foreign exchange deals and money laundering running to a whopping $3.4billion.
Jim Obazee, special investigator
The administration of President Bola Tinubu Tinubu appointed Jim Obazee, special investigator, to unravel the $3.4billion allegedly perpetrated by a major player in Nigeria’s private sector under the Godwin Emeifele-led Central Bank of Nigeria over the past 10 years.
The group in a statement signed by Dr. Peter Chima, its president on Thursday said there is a syndicated plot to truncate the probe following the submission of the findings of the special investigation team to President Tinubu.
COTER even alleged that Obazee and other members of his team have been receiving threat messages from anonymous callers.
In the statement, COTER claimed it was reliably informed that Obazee and members of his household have since his appointment been getting death threats from some faceless vested interests, “including some members of the powerful Aso Rock cabal.”
The group further alleged that “but the threat to his life, family and committee members was intensified in the last few days that the investigation into latest petition against a major private sector player in the Nigerian economy began in earnest. The death threats, it was learnt, had been coming through direct calls to their phones and SMS messages.
“The anonymous callers, we were informed have been demanding that Obazee and members of his team turn their searchlight away from the allegations against the private conglomerate and other high profile cases.
“We further learnt that Obazee, members of his investigating committee and even family members have in the past few days continued to receive fresh death threats from these anonymous callers, asking them to immediately stop the ongoing probe by the Obazee-led panel or risk losing their lives and those of their loved ones.
“They were also said to have boasted about plans to “handsomely” induce Presidency and other senior Federal Government officials to influence the stoppage of the ongoing investigations by Obazee and his team.
“The cabal, prominent Nigerians, business moguls and some top aides of the President, it was learnt, have since Obazee’s appointment been making efforts to either blackmail him or induce him to compromise his investigations of some high profile cases. But the Special Investigator, it was learnt, has continued to resist them by blocking all avenues through which they can reach him.”
According to the group, Obazee’s “obstinacy and stubbornness” have been creating fears in the minds of top officials of some Federal Government agencies and those of several other GBEs, as well as some highly placed Nigerians on the ongoing probe of the apex bank and the GBEs.
“They are said to have been reaching out to powerful politicians in the Presidency to save them and their organisations from being exposed by the Special Investigator.
“But having failed in their bid to intimidate and blackmail Obazee to submission, it was gathered that some of the officials, who had allegedly collected huge sums of money from some of those being investigated by Obazee with the promise to ensure the Special Investigator is stopped from further probing them, have lately been cooking up a narrative to discredit Obazee before President Tinubu.
“The cabal recently deliberately started to spread a rumour that that Obazee had got N8 billion largesse from the embattled ex-CBN Governor, Emefiele, through a serving Senator from one of the South-East states.
“This rumour, we learnt, is aimed at threatening the Special Investigator to back down on the high profile cases of corruption he’s currently handling or giving those they had collected bribes from a clean bill of health to eventually get them off the hook.
“But since the Special Investigator is not yielding to their pressures and demands, while it has also become practically impossible for them to refund the money collected as bribes, the cabal and other powerful persons have resorted to bringing down Obazee and members of his team at all cost and influence the President to disband the committee in order to cover up their misdeeds.
“They intend to put this together and package same as a report they’ll send to President Tinubu with the ultimate aim of getting him to disband the Obazee-led investigating team,” the statement read.
COTER said all these are being done to ensure that the Special Investigator does not eventually submit his full reports, which President Tinubu promised during his maiden Independence Day broadcast on October 1, 2023.
But the group interestingly noted that the Special Investigator team’s work has been applauded by even the international community.
“Sources had revealed that the humongous frauds allegedly perpetrated under the immediate past CBN governor, Emefiele, in many of these GBEs, which are now already being unearthed by the Obazee-led Committee would shock Nigerians to their bone marrows.
“The Special Investigator has recently traced about N8trillion of the funds looted from the vaults of the CBN and the Government Business Entities (GBEs) to various bank accounts operated by some individuals and private business organisations.
“According to sources, this and other revelations are contained in the preliminary report already submitted by the Special Investigator to President Tinubu.
“About N400 trillion looted from the CBN is expected to be recovered by the Obazee-led team of investigators.
“However, the alleged illegal forex deals by the the private sector Group, it was gathered, was allegedly perpetrated by the company with the active connivance of the Central Bank of Nigeria under sacked governor Godwin Emefiele and some major commercial banks in the country (names withheld).
“CBN under Emefiele and the commercial banks, it was learnt, had been aiding the Group to repatriate proceeds from its illegal forex deals amounting to $3.4 billion out of the country to personal accounts abroad in the past 10 years.
“The Special Investigator’s launch of the probe of the Group, on Sunday, followed a petition received by the panel from a concerned Nigerian and social justice advocate, Ahmed Fahad against the Group on how the Emefiele-led CBN and some commercial banks illegally transferred a whopping $3.4billion to the private company in the past 10 years,” it added.
COTER president, wondered Nigerians should be hell-bent on stopping the good job being done by the Special Investigator and members of his team in stopping corruption and other financial malfeasance in the country.
He, therefore, urged the Special Investigator and his team not to cave in to blackmail from any quarter, no matter how highly placed but to forge ahead as his name and integrity are at stake.
“Nigerians and the entire world are watching as the Committee is being considered as one of the positive decisions the President has taken so far. And this has greatly improved the image of the country and government,” he said.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an urgent directive requiring all capital market-regulated entities (CMREs) to immediately subscribe to Nigeria’s Sanctions (NigSac) Alerts system.
Effective immediately, failure to comply with this, or other AML/CFT regulations, may result in severe fines, suspension of operations, or revocation of registration.
This follows fresh designations by both local and international authorities of individuals and Bureau de Change operators for alleged direct involvement in terrorism financing and material support to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The directive, according to three circulars issued by the apex capital market regulator, requires a mandatory compliance measure with threats of fines, operational suspension, or outright registration revocation for non-compliance.
The directive, pursuant to the implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) statements on high-risk jurisdictions, signals an escalation in Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime.
The SEC’s broader circular implementing FATF high-risk jurisdiction statements reflects Nigeria’s heightened exposure to international scrutiny. SEC, in line with directives from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), now requires CMREs to terminate all correspondent banking relationships with listed high-risk jurisdictions, business entities and individuals.
“In line with the provisions of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) has designated six (6) Individuals and three (3) Entities as terrorist financiers and subsequently added them to the Nigeria Sanctions List,” SEC stated in circular to all market operators.
The circular mandated all capital market regulated entities and individuals to do the following:
“Immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in their possession and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee;
“Report to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee any assets frozen or actions taken in compliance with the designation, including attempted transactions;
“Immediately file a suspicious transactions report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis on the financial activities;
“Report as a suspicious transactions report to the NFIU, all cases of name matching in financial transactions prior to or after receipt of this Sanctions List;
“Subsequently prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities; and continue to check for transactions relating to the designated persons and entities and report findings to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through [email protected]”, SEC stated.
“Take Note that at all times, any unusual or suspicious transactions shall be promptly reported to the NFIU,” SEC warned.
According to the capital market apex regulator, the circular takes immediate effect and failure to comply with the directives constitutes a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC AML/CFT Rules and Regulations and such failure would attract appropriate regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations, or revocation of registration.
The directive implies that capital market operators should immediately audit their AML/CFT technology stacks to ensure NigSac Alerts subscription and automated flagging capability.
CMREs are required to file suspicious transactions reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for any name matching with designated individuals and entities, whether such matches occur pre- or post-transaction.
The obligation extends to reporting all funds frozen and actions taken in compliance with designations to the NSC Secretariat via [email protected].
The designations also create secondary compliance obligations: CMREs must now maintain watchlists that incorporate designations from both the NSC and US Treasury, as regulatory expectations implicitly track international sanctions coordination.
For institutional investors and fund managers, this translates to enhanced due diligence on counterparty relationships, particularly where transactions flow through informal financial infrastructure or jurisdictions flagged under FATF increased monitoring status.
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has raised CHF350 million, about $430 million, through a five-year digital bond, marking a major step in the use of regulated digital financial infrastructure by an African institution.
The transaction is the first time an African institution has issued a digital bond that is listed, traded and settled on a regulated digital exchange. It is also the largest digital bond ever issued in the Swiss franc market, according to AFC.
The deal strengthens AFC’s access to international investors as the Lagos based development finance institution seeks to diversify its sources of funding and raise more long-term capital for infrastructure and industrial projects across Africa.
The bond carries a coupon of 1.4925 percent and forms part of AFC’s wider $500 million benchmark funding programme issued in June 2026. Despite a difficult global environment marked by geopolitical tensions, the transaction attracted strong investor demand.
AFC is rated A with a positive outlook by S&P Global Ratings and A3 with a stable outlook by Moody’s Ratings, giving the institution an investment grade profile in international debt markets.
Swiss investors accounted for about 90 percent of demand, while international investors made up the remaining 10 percent. Banks and other financial institutions accounted for 57 percent of the order book, followed by asset managers at 37 percent and hedge funds at 6 percent.
“This transaction is about far more than achieving competitive pricing. It marks another significant milestone in AFC’s funding journey and underscores the confidence global investors continue to place in our strategy, credit strength, and development impact,” Samaila Zubairu, President and Chief Executive Officer of AFC, said.
Zubairu said continued diversification and innovation in AFC’s funding strategy would be important to mobilising the long term capital needed to support Africa’s industrialisation and economic transformation.
The transaction is AFC’s fourth and largest Swiss franc denominated issuance. It follows a CHF150 million green bond issued in 2020, which was the corporation’s first green bond transaction.
Banji Fehintola, Executive Board Member and Head of Financial Services at AFC, described the latest issuance as an important milestone for the corporation’s funding programme.
“Pricing the largest digital bond ever issued in the Swiss Franc market reflects not only the strength of AFC’s credit but the depth of trust that Swiss and international investors have placed in our strategy over time,” Fehintola said.
The bond was issued under AFC’s $5 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme and is structured as a tokenised security using distributed ledger technology. Ownership is recorded on a regulated digital register, while settlement takes place through regulated digital market infrastructure.
The notes are listed and admitted for trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange and deposited with SIX Digital Exchange. Clearing and settlement are handled through SIX SIS AG.
The structure gives AFC access to an alternative form of capital markets infrastructure while showing how distributed ledger technology can be used in institutional debt markets under established regulatory standards.
The proceeds will be used for AFC’s general funding needs, supporting its capacity to finance infrastructure and industrial projects across Africa.
Commerzbank AG acted as technical lead for the transaction, while Deutsche Bank AG London Branch, through its Zurich branch, also participated in arranging the deal.
For AFC, the issuance adds to a series of capital markets transactions designed to broaden its funding base and reduce dependence on a narrow group of financing sources.
The strong demand also points to continued investor appetite for African development finance institutions with established credit profiles, particularly those capable of accessing international markets while using new financial technology within regulated frameworks.
KudiWave Technologies Limited has raised questions over the transfer of N750,369,439.04 from its account with PalmPay Limited, seeking clarification on the timing, destination and circumstances surrounding the transaction.
In a statement, on Tuesday, KudiWave said the disputed debit was recorded on July 15, 2026, under the narration “Judicial Adjustment”.
The company said it was not notified of, or did not authorise, the transaction.
According to KudiWave, it had already approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge an earlier order affecting its account.Politics News Service
The company said its application, filed on July 3, sought to set aside the June 29 order and stay its execution.
“The motion was heard on July 13 and adjourned for ruling. Two days later, the N750.37 million was transferred out of the account,” the company said.
KudiWave further stated that PalmPay had been served with the application before the July 15 transaction and did not file a counter-affidavit opposing the application.
The company also raised questions about an earlier movement of funds on July 11, which it said became apparent after access to the account was restored.
According to KudiWave, its account records showed that the funds were moved on July 11 and returned the same day before another transfer was recorded on July 15.
“PalmPay moved the money on July 11 and sent it back that same day. They then took it out again on July 15. When the account was opened, we saw how the money had been moved around while the account was frozen and we were not aware of it,” the company said.
The dispute followed an ex parte order obtained by the Inspector General of Police through officers of the Police Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, which placed restrictions on accounts belonging to several parties, including KudiWave, pending investigation.
The restriction was subsequently implemented on KudiWave’s account with PalmPay.
Further proceedings were filed under Suit No. FHC/L/CS/795/2026 before Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, in relation to funds standing to KudiWave’s credit.
KudiWave said the court granted an application on June 29.
The company subsequently challenged the order, arguing that it had not been properly served with the processes leading to the decision and had not been effectively brought before the court when the application was heard.
According to KudiWave, Justice Kala considered the company’s subsequent application on July 22 and set aside, vacated and discharged the June 29 order.
The company said the court also directed that the restrictions placed on its account be removed.
KudiWave further stated that the court examined the circumstances surrounding the purported service of the processes and raised questions about whether leaving documents at a gate, without sufficient indication of the company’s specific address, amounted to effective service.
The company quoted the court as describing the circumstances surrounding the service as “very curious”.
KudiWave also said the ruling recognised the court’s inherent power to set aside its own decision where circumstances justify such intervention.
The July 22 ruling came after the July 15 transfer.
KudiWave, however, said the transaction should be considered in the context of the fact that the June 29 order was already being challenged and that its application had been argued before the court two days earlier.
The company has also questioned the destination of the funds.
According to KudiWave, its understanding of the June 29 order was that the identified funds were to be transferred to a designated Police Recovery Account associated with the Police Special Fraud Unit.
The company said its account records instead indicated that the N750,369,439.04 was transferred to an Access Bank business account.
KudiWave said it wants clarification on the identity of the beneficiary, the instruction that authorised the transfer and the basis for the July 11 movement of funds.
“The issue for us is simple. If the order identified a particular account for the funds, there must be a clear explanation of why our records show the money going elsewhere and who ultimately received it,” the company said.
KudiWave said it was seeking a reconciliation of transactions carried out on its account during the restriction period and was considering further legal and regulatory steps in relation to the disputed transactions.
The company also said that, during earlier efforts to resolve the restriction, Barrister Prince Oko, its Company Secretary, met with officers of the Police Special Fraud Unit.
KudiWave alleged that a request for N50 million was made in connection with efforts to remove the restriction and said the company rejected the request.
The allegation has not been independently established and has not been determined by a court.
KudiWave maintained that its concerns do not relate to compliance with lawful court orders but to whether the transactions involving its funds were carried out in accordance with the terms of the relevant judicial directive.
The company said it wants clarification on the July 11 transactions, the subsequent N750,369,439.04 transfer on July 15, the destination of the funds and the circumstances surrounding the transactions.
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