ABUJA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's anti-corruption police said on Saturday it hoped to decide early next week whether to bring criminal charges against 19 banking executives following a government bailout of five financial institutions.
Nigeria's central bank fired executives at Afribank , Finbank, Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank and Union Bank last week and injected $2.6 billion into the firms, saying lax governance had left them so weakly capitalised they posed a systemic risk.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have detained a total of 14 senior banking executives in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, and were seeking to bring in five others.
'They are being interrogated and hopefully by Tuesday the picture of what to do with them next will become clearer,' said EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi.
Central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Thursday he would prosecute any executive found to have broken the law. Analysts say criminal charges could be brought if executives are found to have falsified accounts or breached share price manipulation rules by setting up subsidiaries as vehicles to trade their own stock and push the share price higher.
The EFCC said it will question the auditors from the five rescued banks on Monday after investigators found evidence of false accounting.
Defaulting debtors of the five banks, which include some of the nation's most powerful tycoons, could also face arrest or asset seizures if they do not organise repayment within days.
The central bank on Wednesday published a list of more than 200 firms, individuals and state bodies it said were defaulting debtors of the five banks.
Those listed as directors and shareholders in some of the defaulting companies read like a Who's Who of Nigeria's business aristocracy, including the only two Nigerians on the latest Forbes billionaires list, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola.
(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Randy Fabi)Keywords: NIGERIA BANKS/ (randolph.fabi@thomsonreuters.com; Abuja Newsroom + 234 9 461 3214, Reuters Messaging: randolph.fabi.thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Nigeria's central bank fired executives at Afribank , Finbank, Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank and Union Bank last week and injected $2.6 billion into the firms, saying lax governance had left them so weakly capitalised they posed a systemic risk.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have detained a total of 14 senior banking executives in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, and were seeking to bring in five others.
'They are being interrogated and hopefully by Tuesday the picture of what to do with them next will become clearer,' said EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi.
Central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Thursday he would prosecute any executive found to have broken the law. Analysts say criminal charges could be brought if executives are found to have falsified accounts or breached share price manipulation rules by setting up subsidiaries as vehicles to trade their own stock and push the share price higher.
The EFCC said it will question the auditors from the five rescued banks on Monday after investigators found evidence of false accounting.
Defaulting debtors of the five banks, which include some of the nation's most powerful tycoons, could also face arrest or asset seizures if they do not organise repayment within days.
The central bank on Wednesday published a list of more than 200 firms, individuals and state bodies it said were defaulting debtors of the five banks.
Those listed as directors and shareholders in some of the defaulting companies read like a Who's Who of Nigeria's business aristocracy, including the only two Nigerians on the latest Forbes billionaires list, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola.
(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Randy Fabi)Keywords: NIGERIA BANKS/ (randolph.fabi@thomsonreuters.com; Abuja Newsroom + 234 9 461 3214, Reuters Messaging: randolph.fabi.thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.