The Department of State Services (DSS) has launched an investigation into an unprecedented financial fraud involving Olam Nigeria Limited, Olam International, and nine connected entities, with alleged irregularities totaling $50 billion. This startling revelation is based on a tangled web of foreign exchange transactions stretching back to 2015.
A Web of Deceit Unraveled
Olam, a significant player in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector, is accused of arranging complex foreign exchange manipulations. Under the pretense of capital importation of roughly $34 billion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the business allegedly engaged in “round-tripping.” This entailed selling foreign money previously pledged to the Nigerian economy at parallel market rates to a variety of commercial entities, including oil and gas dealers and industrial behemoths like Indorama and Fouani.
The discovery that Olam directed foreign exchange purchasers to transfer comparable sums in Naira into accounts owned by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) is particularly disturbing. Surprisingly, several of these SPVs listed fictional Nigerian corporations as directors, with accounts only managed by Indian expatriates, some of whom live in Europe and Asia.
An Intricate Nexus: The Anchor-Borrower Scheme
Simultaneously, the DSS delved into transactions related to the controversial anchor-borrower scheme, a matter that raises eyebrows considering the scheme’s association with the suspended Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele. Intelligence reports suggest a complex network of shadowy companies connected to Olam, prompting suspicions of fund redirection into accounts allegedly controlled by Aminu Yaro, a figure purportedly acting as a front for the embattled CBN governor. Mr. Yaro, previously under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been in DSS custody since July 12.
High-Profile Summons
The DSS has extended invitations for questioning to several expatriates, including Olam Nigeria Limited’s Managing Director/CEO, Ashish Pande, and high-ranking company officials such as Prakash Kanth, Sudhir Goenka, Niraj Shah, Chandrasekran Balaji, and Venkataramani Srivathshan. Rajeesh Damodaram Valagulam, the Chief Financial Officer of Crown Flour Mill Limited, a major Olam subsidiary in Nigeria, is also among those summoned for investigation.
On this development, all attempts by Abuja City Journal to reach Olam’s management for comments on the matter proved abortive.
Implications for Nigerian Financial Landscape
Insiders with knowledge of the matter argue that Olam Nigeria Limited and its subsidiaries played a pivotal role in speculative activities that contributed to the devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the Naira. The outcome of this extensive investigation has the potential to send shockwaves throughout the Nigerian financial landscape and beyond.
As the DSS unravels this intricate web of financial deceit, the nation watches with bated breath, awaiting the findings that could reshape Nigeria’s economic landscape and have repercussions far beyond its borders.
DSS, CBN Keep Mum
To confirm these allegations, Abuja City Journal reached out to Dr Isa Abdulmumin as its acting director of CBN’s Corporate Communications Department but neither picked nor return our calls. He also largely ignored a text message sent to his phone on the matter at of the time of filing this report.
Also, we reached out to DSS spokesperson, Dr Peter Afunanya who requested we should send him a text message on Sunday 10 September 2023. His reply to our correspondent’s message was “No comments”.
