A recent investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele spent N18 billion to print N1 billion worth of banknotes.
The probe centers on the printing of one billion N100 notes and 5,000 acrylic blocks for Nigeria’s centenary celebration in October 2014.
The report suggests Emefiele bypassed the CBN board and obtained approval directly from former President Goodluck Jonathan, bypassing due process.
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The contract, awarded to Swedish firm Crane Currency on September 17, 2014, was inflated to $121,660,000.00 (N18,911,524,842.62). Crane Currency, which provides banknote printing services, received an advance payment of $72,996,000.00, breaching established procedures.
Investigations revealed that only $39,848,991.90 was actually transferred, while $32,716,050.00 was converted to Naira and allegedly distributed among top officials. This amount, totaling N5.3 billion, is believed to be excess funds from the inflated contract, used to benefit CBN officials and their associates.
An investigator commented, “The contract was deliberately overpriced to benefit certain individuals within and outside the bank, resulting in a windfall of N5.3 billion.”
The EFCC has recovered N3,180,236,254.42 from those involved in the scheme. However, there are reports of attempts to pressure the EFCC Chairman to return the recovered funds to the accused, who claim the money was earned legitimately.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed the ongoing investigation but withheld further details, stating, “At this stage, I cannot disclose further details as our team is still actively working on the case.”
