EFCC Declares Ex Pension Boss, Maina Wanted; Traces Loot To Fidelity Bank

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested two top Fidelity Bank managers for allegedly assisting a former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to launder stolen pension funds.

The indicted Fidelity Bank Plc top managers are the Group Head of Private Banking, Danjuma Zubairu, and an account officer, Abubakar Gwambe.

Maina has been declared wanted by the EFCC as he disappeared after the EFCC filed charges against him for stealing billions of pension funds through a phoney biometric exercise.

He was alleged to have committed the crime alongside a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye.

Zubairu and Gwambe, who work in the Abuja Central Business District Business Unit of Fidelity Bank, were arrested on Thursday by the EFCC following fresh evidence that they are managing proxy accounts for Maina.

The accounts, said to 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 N1.5 billion, while the other operated in the name of Nafisatu Aliyu, recorded a turnover of over N100 million.

The corporate accounts of Cluster Logistics had a turnover of N500 million and $400,000.

Drew Investment and Construction and Kongolo Dynamics Cleaning Limited recorded turnovers of N54 million and N509 million 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 Fidelity Bank Plc.

The said Khalil is currently at large.

But investigation established that Maina is the one operating the accounts.

There was said to have been established evidence 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 the United Arab Emirates.