Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, is under scrutiny following an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which revealed that he allegedly spent N18 billion to print just N1 billion worth of banknotes.
The investigation centers on the printing of one billion N100 banknotes and 5,000 acrylic blocks for Nigeria’s centenary celebration in October 2014. Reports indicate that Emefiele bypassed the CBN board and directly sought approval from then-President Goodluck Jonathan without following standard procedures.
The contract, awarded to the Swedish firm Crane Currency on September 17, 2014, was allegedly inflated to $121,660,000 (N18,911,524,842.62). Crane Currency is known for supplying banknote printing and other currency services to the CBN. An advance payment of $72,996,000 was made, violating established financial practices. Investigators revealed that only $39,848,991.90 of this amount was transferred, while the remaining $32,716,050 was converted to Naira and shared among top officials.
The withheld $32,716,050 was reportedly converted to Naira and transferred to the Nigerian branch of the Swedish company, totaling N5.3 billion. This excess amount is believed to have been generated from the inflated contract to benefit high-ranking CBN officials and their collaborators.
According to an investigator, “The contract was deliberately overpriced to provide a windfall of N5.3 billion for specific individuals inside and outside the bank.”
It is reported that N5.3 billion was initially shared among those involved in the deal. However, the EFCC has recovered N3,180,236,254.42 from the implicated individuals. Despite this, there are alleged attempts to pressure the EFCC Chairman to return the recovered funds to the accused, who claim the money was legally earned.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the agency is investigating the case but declined to provide further details, stating, “Our team is still actively working on the matter, so I cannot disclose more information at this time.”