A source from the EFCC, who pleaded not to be named, said the former top civil servant is being interrogated on fresh allegations of huge fraud in the running of the Presidential Standing Committee on Financial Action Task Force, which he chairs.
The committee is a policy advisory body to the president on the implementation of the anti money laundering measures.
The Federal Government had constituted the committee pursuant to recommendations of the global FATF for the implementation of FATF recommendations to members and associate countries on corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.
The FATF attaches great importance to the fight against corruption because of its potential to bring catastrophic harm to economic development, the fight against organized crime, and respect for the law and effective governance.
Considering the mandate and expectation of the national FATF, the membership and most importantly its chairman was expected to be a person of high integrity and moral standing.
But Mr. Oronsanye is alleged to have used his position in the committee as conduit to launder public funds.
Already, we learnt some members of the committee have provided clues on how Mr. Oronsaye allegedly operated an illegal account in a first generation bank in the committee’s name.
They said the account, which was opened without the knowledge of the committee members, was used by the former HOS to launder hundreds of millions of naira.
Based on the fresh allegations, the former HOS was subjected to additional hours of interrogation and was granted administrative bail late on Wednesday.
He was, however, directed to report to the commission on Friday with key documents relating to the allegations made against him.
The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that Mr. Oronsaye was being interrogated by the commission.
He however said he had no details of the allegations against the former head of service.
Mr. Oronsaye could not be reached to comment for this story. His known mobile telephones were switched off the several times called. He is yet to respond to a text message sent to him.
Mr. Oronsanye was appointed Head of the Civil Service of the Federation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in June 2009 and retired in November 16, 2010.
However, in September 2014, the office of the Auditor General of the Federation released a damning report that indicted him of N123billion alleged fraud.
The 169-page report, titled “Special Audit of the Accounts of the Civil Pensions”, found Mr. Oronsaye guilty of allegedly presiding over the looting of the nation’s resources during his tenure.
The audit by the Auditor General arose from the work of a Special Audit Team constituted by the Federal Government in May 2011 to conduct a comprehensive examination of the accounts of the Civilian Pension Department domiciled in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The audit, which covered the period 2005 to 2010, uncovered monumental financial irregularities, opaque transactions, irregular and abnormal running costs, and outright stealing and kick-backs said to have reached its zenith during the 18 months that Mr. Oronsaye served as Head of Service.
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