From Petrus Obi, Enugu
Enugu Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is turning into a Mecca of sort as depositors continue to throng the Independence Layout office to submit petitions and claims in what appears a last minute attempt to see how much could be salvaged out of over N4 billion which is feared to have gone down the drain with the failed wonder bank.
Meanwhile the EFCC has raised the alarm that depositors money could as well be much more than the N4 billion explain that the sum earlier mentioned is just what was paid into two out of the 20 bank accounts operated by the operator Chief Patrick Nwokike, popularly known as Shine-Shine who has also refuse to give useful information to the agency.
One of the depositors who spoke to our reporter at the EFCC office yesterday said; “We have been coming here since Monday because they asked us to bring our claims and agreement with the company. But it’s not been easy because the crowd has been too much and when the rush became uncontrollable they locked their gate. But we are still waiting to see what happens.
Some of the depositors disclosed that apart from monies deposited for which 10% was being paid monthly by the company, there were other funds from monthly contributions some of which are paid back to contributors between six months to one year accumulation.
An inside source at the EFCC reliably told our reporter that the proprietor of the failed wonder bank Chief Nwokike is not coming forth with information. In his words; “the man has a strong mind and has refused to cooperate or open up; he is slowing down investigation but we will see what happens.”
South East Zonal Head of the EFCC Johnson Babalola who addressed newsmen in Enugu recently disclosed had that Nowkike was being detained with his wife as one of the signatories to the two accounts in which the over N4 billion belonging to depositors was paid into.
He noted that the suspect Chief Nwokike collected over N4 billion from unsuspecting members of the public using the name and style of “Lets Partner with You” in return for certain monthly percentage on the invested money.
“The N4 billion is from only two of the 20 bank accounts identified and traced to the suspect. It is suspected that a larger percentage of funds are stashed in an offshore account.
“There is no money in the accounts; as the monies are coming they are being wired out; assets tracing, money tracing is not an easy thing and we have to be very meticulous about it; and that’s what we are doing.
“We are not able to give you the exact figure of depositors fund with him because petitions keep coming on a daily basis. Until we are able to burst into other accounts we shall be able to give a near accurate figure of the money he has collected from people.
“If at the end of the day we are able to burst into where the money really is kept, we will take it up from there. That will dictate what our next line of action will be. For now all we are able to identify were mansions, and a multi million naira warehouse”