How CBN, bank workers defraud govt, by FIRS
By Sanya Adejokun,
Senior
Correspondent, Abuja
Some bank officials
have now devised new methods of defrauding government. They collude with
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials to obtain remittance stamps for monies
collected on behalf of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) without
actually remitting such.
Some CBN officials
are, therefore, now being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on the roles they played in the huge rip-off that has
deprived government of revenue while allowing the banks to trade illegally with
the funds.
Chairman of the
FIRS, Miss. Ifueko Omoigui, said at an interactive session with bankers and
other stakeholders in Abuja that there were plans to amend the law to give the
service the power to prosecute tax evaders.
She cited the case
of Peak Merchant Bank whose license has now been revoked by the CBN while still
holding government’s N1.028 billion.