*Abdulrasheed Maina,
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
has arrested two top managers of a commercial
bank for assisting the former Chairman of
Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, Abdulrasheed
Maina, to launder stolen pension funds. Maina is
on the run after the EFCC filed charges against
him for stealing billions of pension funds through
a phony biometric exercise alongside former
Head of Service of the Federation, Steve
Oronsaye.
Sources at the EFCC disclosed that the two
bankers, Danjuma Zubairu, group head, private
banking and Abubarkar Gwambe, an account
officer, in the Abuja Central Business District
business unit of the bank, were arrested on
Thursday following fresh evidence that they are
managing proxy accounts for the fugitive.
The accounts, which have over time witnessed
massive inflow of slush funds include two
corporate and three individual accounts. The first
individual account opened in the name of
Abdullahi Faizer, had a turnover of N1.5billion
while the other operated in the name of Nafisatu
Aliyu recorded a turnover of over N100,000.
The corporate accounts of Cluster Logistics had
a turnover of N500million and $400,000 USD.
Drew Investment and Construction and Kongolo
Dynamics Cleaning Limited recorded turnovers of
N54million and N509million respectively. All five
accounts have different opening packages. Four
of the accounts were allegedly opened by one
Khalid Aliyu, a relation of Maina, who was an
employee of the bank.
The said Khalil is currently at large. But
investigation established that Abdulrasheed
Maina is the one operating the accounts.
Competent sources in the anti-graft agency
disclosed that this nexus was established
through detailed analysis of telephone text
messages and email communication between
Maina and the bank officials.
The bulk of the monies, it was gathered, had
been moved through some Bureau de Change
operators,who convert them into dollars and then
transfer to Maina in his hideout, believed to be
United Arab Emirates.
The EFCC has been on the trail of Maina for a
number of years.
Before the agency filed charges against him in
absentia, it arrested the woman, who served as
secretary to Maina during his reign as the
chairman of the controversial PRTT, during
which billions of pension funds reportedly
disappeared from the treasury.
Ann Igwe, who was a confidant of Maina, was
grilled by the agency and she allegedly made
useful confessions on how the biometric
contract allegedly awarded to streamline pension
administration under Maina actually became a
conduit for stealing pension fund.