EFCC Quizzes First Bank Chief over Bank Transactions

FBN Holdings Plc, Nigeria’s biggest lender by assets, said one of its directors was invited and questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of a wider probe into alleged illegal transactions by the country’s banks.

Dauda Lawal, executive director was questioned about sums allegedly distributed by a former minister of petroleum, and is cooperating fully with the agency, the Lagos-based lender said in a statement Friday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website.

Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman did not immediately respond to calls or a text message seeking comments, according to Bloomberg.

The questioning of the FBN director brings to four the number of Nigerian lenders whose officials have been interrogated by the anti-graft agency since last week over alleged illegal dealings. Fidelity Bank Plc appointed Mohammed Balarabe as acting head on May 3 after the agency arrested Managing Director Nnamdi Okonkwo.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office a year ago after contesting elections on an anti-corruption platform, is encouraging anti-graft agencies to perform their duties. The country ranks 136th out of 168 nations in Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perception Index.