The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission has arrested a Bank Manager with the First City Monument Bank in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
The spokesperson of the ICPC, Azuka Ogugua, confirmed the development in a statement she issued on Friday.
Ogugua said the ICPC compliance team in Osogbo discovered a FCMB branch where some ATMs were loaded with cash with their wrappers not removed, thus preventing it from being dispensed.
She said: “The team therefore directed that the wrappers be removed and the cash loaded properly.
“However, when a follow-up visit was undertaken the following day to ascertain the level of compliance, the team discovered that one of the ATMs was still loaded with the wrappers not removed.
“The operation manager of the bank was arrested and taken in for questioning.
“Similarly, seven Point of Sale operators as well as a security guard were arrested during the ongoing exercise in Osun State for charging exorbitant commissions for cash. Investigations, however, revealed that they got the money from filling stations that collect new notes from fuel buyers, but they then resell the cash to the public at exorbitant rates.
“The arrested persons are helping the commission with information to assist investigations and bust any syndicates involved in the hoarding or sale of the redesigned notes.”
Similarly, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission has arrested an official of Stanbic IBTC Bank in Abuja for alleged sabotage.
The development was revealed by the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, in a statement she issued on Friday.
The statement said: “When the ICPC monitoring team stormed the bank at about 1:30pm on Friday to ensure compliance, and demanded explanation as to why all the ATMs were not dispensing cash, the team was informed by the branch’s head of operations that the bank just got delivery of the cash.
“However, facts available to the ICPC operatives indicated that the branch took delivery of the cash earlier around 11:58am and either willfully or maliciously refused to feed the ATMs with the cash.
“Against this backdrop, the ICPC team compelled the bank to load the ATMs with the redesigned Naira notes and ensured that they were all dispensing before arresting the culprit.”
The ICPC said investigations were still ongoing and the Commission will take appropriate actions as soon they are concluded, adding: “Similarly, seven Point of Sale (PoS) operators as well as a security guard were arrested during an ongoing exercise in Osun State for charging exorbitant commissions for cash.