A Federal High Court in Lagos has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the accounts of Afex Commodities Exchange Limited held in 28 banks across Nigeria. This order comes following the company's alleged failure to repay a loan facility amounting to N17,808,452,467.107 granted by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank).
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke issued this order based on an ex-parte application submitted by GTBank’s legal counsel, Chief Ajibola Aribisala (SAN). The investigation will cover the period from February 27, 2024, to May 27, 2024, aiming to verify the existence of Afex’s accounts and to check for any falsification in the account statements across the 28 banks listed.
The court has mandated that the CBN and EFCC complete their investigations within 30 days from the date of service of the orders and submit their reports to the court. The order also requires Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Providus Bank Limited, and Union Bank Plc, along with any other listed banks found to have misrepresented the state of Afex’s accounts, to transfer the funds into Afex's account with GTBank.
During the recent hearing, GTBank’s counsel, Chief Ajibola Aribisala, urged the court to adjourn the matter to allow time for the CBN and EFCC to comply with the court’s directive. Aribisala noted that most of the banks had not provided accurate account statements to the court.
In opposition, Afex's counsel, Prof. Olawale Olawoyin (SAN), argued for the hearing of pending applications, emphasizing that no application had been moved by the defendants since the case began. He also requested the court to release individuals cited for contempt who were unrelated to the case.
Justice Aneke adjourned the matter until September 26, 2024, for the hearing of pending applications.
Previously, the court had authorized GTBank to temporarily take over Afex’s funds and assets following the N17.8 billion CBN Anchor Borrowers’ loan. The interim injunctive relief was granted based on GTBank’s ex-parte application, which outlined that the debt included N15,766,475,417.06 in unpaid loan facilities and accrued interest, alongside pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, and recovery costs totaling N2,041,977,050.047.
GTBank is the sole plaintiff in this case (FHC/L/CS/911/2024), with Afex Commodities Exchange as the defendant and 27 commercial banks listed as nominal respondents. The affidavit supporting the application revealed that the loan, intended to finance smallholder farmers under the CBN Anchor Borrower’s program, was due for repayment on April 22, 2021. However, Afex failed to meet its repayment obligations, prompting GTBank to seek the court’s intervention for an interim Global Standing Instruction (GSI) injunctive relief.
The GSI, established in July 2020, allows creditor banks to recover debts from any or all accounts held by the debtor in other financial institutions in the event of a default. Justice Aneke’s order included a ‘Place a No Debit’ directive on all funds credited to Afex’s accounts across the 28 respondent banks.
0 Comments