Dangote Group Responds to BUA, Accuses Firm of Sponsoring False, Negative Reports Against It
- Dangote Industries Limites has responded to BUA's allegation of illegal Forex deals and money laundering
- The company said the report published by BUA is spurious and a rehash of previous allegations by BUA
- Dangote stated that it always funded the construction of her various plants from the Interbank FX Market
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Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.
Management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has refuted allegations that it engaged in illegal foreign exchange deals, warning those peddling the allegation of economic sabotage against the company to desist from such underhand practices.
It gave the warning amid claims in some sponsored reports BUA Industries in the online media, suggesting that the company is being probed for alleged illegal foreign exchange deals and money laundering by the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, probing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the leadership of the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Source: Getty Images
Dangote says allegations look similar to the one published in 2016
In a statement sent to Legit.ng, Dangote described the allegation as spurious and a rehash of a similar report peddled out of malice by a competitor, BUA Group, masquerading as a concerned Nigerian in 2016.
The company recalled that BUA started the spurious and false story in 2016 and published it in both BusinessDay and Leadership Newspapers. It accused the authors of the report of rejigging it to make it appear authentic and a new development.
Dangote said:
"It is saddening to note that this publication of Monday, March 14, 2016, in BusinessDay and Leadership newspapers where the author had alleged that about "$3 billion foreign exchange sourced from the CBN were diverted to other Dangote companies outside Nigeria, a practice that encourages round tripping and effect money laundering since there is no proper documentation".
Dangote management explained that the same false report back in 2016 was now being given a fresh incorrect slant by one Ahmed Fahad, purporting it to be a new petition directed to the attention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator probing the CBN, and subsequently, different blogs and social media platforms have been carrying variants of this arrant falsehood to the detriment of our corporate reputation."
The statement said:
"Attempt by the authors of this misleading allegation to give it a fresh life in the media is baffling as the two newspapers that were misguided into publishing it as an advertorial then (2016) have since publicly apologized to the Management of Dangote Industries Limited in writing as well as retracted the advertorial in its entirety in their respective publications.
Indeed, BusinessDay and Leadership Newspapers admitted that Messrs. BUA Nigeria Limited sponsored the advertorial."
Dangote says it sources Forex from the Inter-bank markets
Dangote re-emphasized that foreign exchange for its numerous projects was sourced strictly from the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in compliance with the CBN approvals and that "Letters of Credit were established for the construction of the various operational plants and the purchase of heavy equipment and spares required for the take-off of the Dangote Cement plants.
"The terms and conditions for payments on the transactions were spelled out in the Letters of Credit instruments and line with the International Chamber of Commerce – Universal Customs & Practice for Documentation Credit – UCP 600. It is also crucial to note that the Letters of Credit in favour of Sinoma International Engineering Co Ltd (a Chinese Government-owned company), the major contractor who accounted for over 75 per cent of these expenditures, were paid against the presentation of all relevant shipping documents. There was no single payment that was made through any Dubai company owned by us," the statement noted.
Dangote denies diverting Forex
It stated all FX purchased regarding its African Projects expansion was fully utilised for what they were meant for.
The projects for which the FX was utilized are visible for everyone to see. It is on record that some of these projects were commissioned by Nigerian top-ranking government officials, and in attendance were Chief Executives of various banks, Captains of Industries, and the Presidents of the host countries supported by their Senior Government Officials."
Dangote further stated that funds invested in its expansion project across African countries are legitimate capital investments in those countries, and the repatriation of FX for $576 million so far has helped to boost foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria and stabilize the FX Market.
Besides, Dangote revealed that it had continuously funded the construction of her various plants from the Interbank FX Market in line with the CBN directives, and relevant periodic progress reports were submitted to the banks for onward submission to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Dangote Cement sets New Record, earns nearly N1tn in Nigeria in 9 months
Legit.ng reported that Dangote Cement has generated almost N1 trillion in revenue from its Nigerian operations during the first nine months of this year.
This information is disclosed in the unaudited interim financial statements for the nine months ending in September 2023, which were submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
The result shows an increase from N890.65 billion in the corresponding period in 2022 to N933bn in 2023, marking a 4.76% growth.
Source: Legit.ng
