Attempts by Capital Oil boss, Mr Ifeanyi Uba to exonerate himself of alleged forty three billion naira fuel subsidy scam may have hit the rocks as the Nigerian Police, a London court and the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria [AMCON] have tightened the noose around him.
Barely twenty four hours after the police authorities issued a report indicting him of involvement in the subsidy scam, a London court which forfeited Uba`s asset worldwide has refused to vacate its order even as AMCON has appealed ruling in favour of the oil chief.
The order had frozen assets of the oil mogul put at around one hundred and thirty three million dollars due to debt owed bankers, a development said to have strengthened AMCON in its ongoing case against Ubah
Reports also indicated that more marketers are deserting the embattled oil chief with hints that they have accepted to correct their ways and make necessary refund to the Federal Government.
Some of the marketers were reported to be unhappy with attempts of Uba to use the National Assembly in a matter they describe as a business relationship involving the law courts and anti-corruption agencies.
One of the marketers told our correspondent that “Uba`s desperation is worsening the issue as Nigerians already know the facts and no amount of public hearing can save the day. The option we have is to cooperate with the Federal Government“
The damning police report had affirmed that “Capital Oil and Gas Limited forged documents, made fraudulent representations, obtained by fake pretences and stole federal Government money by claiming monies paid on these fraudulent presentations
The report available to our correspondent also noted that “Import duty certifications, bill of ladings, Letters of Credits (LCs)/Form Ms and other documents were perfected with the active connivance of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), bank officials, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other port authorities clearing agencies.
The police also noted that these fraudulent practices were formatted from the point of ship to ship transactions involving mother vessel and daughter vessel documentations, cargo quantity inflation and other underhand practices perfected to undermine transparency in the petroleum subsidy payment process.
Irrespective of its findings, the police concluded that to establish a prima facie case against the suspects, it would be necessary to obtain details of all the transactions from the Federal Ministry of Finance from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to obtain the financial instruments, as the original documents that were forged would be needed to establish forgery.
It went further to allege that the “response of the suspect (Ubah) confirmed the concern of the presidential committee and investigation team,” adding that it was on this note that it became necessary to detain the suspect for further interrogation.
Feelers from the police however indicated that the investigation has been extended to cover Uba and Capital Oil accounts in other banks other than Access Bank even as oil chief is said to have been put under surveillance to prevent him from escaping from the country.
