Naira Scarcity: ICPC Arrests Filling Station Accountant Conniving with PoS Operator, Discover N1Million Cash
- The ICPC has arrested a filling station accountant running a naira notes racket with a PoS operator in Abuja.
- The act was found to go against the directive of the CBN as they exploited customers with high charges for commission on transactions.
- The Commission stated that N1,000,000 cash was found with the PoS operator.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested a filling station accountant conniving with PoS operators in the criminal act of naira racketeering.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the clampdown follows a directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria for security agencies to arrest individuals engaging in acts that exploit members of the public through high commissions for transactions.
Source: UGC
Speaking on the matter on Friday in Abuja, the spokesperson of the Commission, Mrs Azuka Ogugua said that the accountant was arrested for alleged involvement in naira notes racketeering.
She said that Commission's Monitoring Team had gotten information that filling station intentionally disconnected its PoS machine so as to make it difficult for customers to make payment for petrol.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
The customers who were now forced to pay in cash were then directed by the filling station to a PoS operator opposite the station to withdraw cash via their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards.
On further investigation the ICPC team found out that the PoS belonged to the filling station accountant. It also found out that the PoS operator was charging very high amount for the transactions which went against the directive of the CBN.
Ogugua also disclosed that the sum of N1,000,000 was found with the PoS operator which the team directed must be paid into an account.
CBN Promises To Arrest Nigerians Selling New Naira Notes
In an earlier report, Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria has promised to work alongside other security agencies in arresting Nigerians selling new Naira notes.
The CBN, in a circular published on its website on Thursday, February 2, 2023, and signed by Osita Nwanisobi the director of Corporate Communications, promised that arrests will intensify.
“We have equally noticed the queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country and an upward trend in the cases of people stocking and aggregating the newly introduced banknotes they serially obtain from ATMs for reasons best known to them.
“Also worrisome are the reported cases of unregistered persons and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN.
“Accordingly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is collaborating with the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to address the unpatriotic practice.
PoS Operator, 5 Petrol Station Managers Arrested in Kano
In a previous report during the week, five petrol managers were arrested in Kano for allegedly selling petrol above the government-regulated price by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The Acting Chairman of the Commission, Balarabe Mahmoud, stated this at a press briefing on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, where he said that the Commission got complaints from members of the public regarding the issue of new naira notes.
Mahmoud who showed concern over the actions of some petrol stations rejecting the old naira notes, despite a Supreme Court order, stated that the Commission discovered that some filling stations sold fuel above the approved price while others adjusted their pumps to extort customers.
Per Mahmoud’s statement, the Commission arrested one PoS operator during the operation for charging above the CBN rate.
The Commission’s chairman said they would apply its laws in conducting operations in banks and punish any bank rejecting old naira notes.
Source: Legit.ng
