(L-R) Mr Kunle Alake, chief operating officer, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group and Dr. John Akanya, DG, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, at the recent certification ceremony of Dangote Cement in Lagos, Nigeria.

There are strong indications that the moves being made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged fraudulent activities in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc may be truncated. It is believed that the management of Union Bank has been seeking the assistance of the authorities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to persuade the EFCC to discontinue the investigation, BusinessWorld Intelligence can now reveal.
Our investigations reveal that Union Bank emissaries, few weeks ago, had contacts with  two top CBN officials who may have offered to assist the bank in establishing contacts with top EFCC hierarchy who would effect the discontinuation of the exercise. Sources close to the CBN indicated that the move is the latest by the troubled bank management to douse the pressure being put on it from various regulatory quarters that have been attracted by mounting allegations of impropriety in the bank since the last one year.
Our sources at the CBN also indicated that the bank may have written to the apex bank for assistance and may have got the assurance of one of the top CBN officials who also assured that she will carry along her counterpart whose responsibility it is to have all surveillance issues so that the EFCC would discontinue their request for investigation.
It was not clear at press time if Union Bank had submitted all the documents requested by the EFCC for the investigation, but there are indications that the bank a few weeks ago met with some EFCC officials but nothing much was discussed as key officials who were detailed to handle the fraud allegation matter were not available. Union Bank officials are still worried that the promise from CBN officials may not be working out now since some top EFCC officials have not indicated that the case has been dropped.
The EFCC had last December asked the bank to forward to it the certified true copies of the N120 billion bail-out fund and how it was used, N230 billion appropriation  for ex-staff of the bank, remittances for pension, insurance and housing fund from March 2009 to date, details of loans granted to the Managing Director and the Executive Directors from December  2008 to date, monthly reports to the CBN  from march 2009 to date, approved Group Managing Director’s salary as at January  and December 2010  among any other relevant information.
It could be recalled that a forensic report on the bank by the CBN on some of the issues being investigated by EFCC carried out few months ago has not been released. Finance ministry sources last week noted that the EFCC move may have been seen as an indictment on CBN and hence an effort to effect a discontinuation. But Union Bank sources believe that the bank is making efforts to comply with EFCC directives.