Exposed: How Emefiele Bypassed CBN Board to Secure $121M(N18.9B) Inflated Contract with Swedish Firm

EFCC Uncovers How Emefiele Spent N18billion to Print N1billion Notes

An investigation has uncovered how former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, bypassed the CBN board to secure approval from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for an inflated contract awarded to Swedish company, Crane Currency.

The deal involved printing one billion pieces of N100 banknotes and producing 5,000 acrylic blocks for Nigeria’s centenary celebration in October 2014. Contrary to Section 19(1)(b) of the CBN Act, 2007, which requires presidential approval on the recommendation of the CBN board, Emefiele directly obtained Jonathan’s approval on September 1, 2014, before presenting it to the board for ratification.

The contract, worth $121.66 million (N18.9 billion at the time), was prearranged in favor of Crane Currency. An advance payment of $72.99 million was made to the company, but only $39.85 million was actually transferred. The remaining $32.72 million was converted to Naira and moved to the account of Crane Currency’s Nigerian subsidiary, totaling N5.3 billion.

Investigators revealed that this N5.3 billion represented the inflated amount shared among top CBN officials and their partners. So far, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N3.18 billion from those implicated, but pressure is being exerted on the EFCC Chairman to release the funds, claiming they were legitimate earnings.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed the ongoing investigation but declined to provide further details. Emefiele could not be reached for comments.