The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted claims of investigating Ecobank Nigeria and Ecobank Transnational Inc. Specialized Resolutions Company (ETISRC) for alleged extortion. A recent statement suggested that CBN was probing Ecobank over claims of abusive proceedings and communications against Wilben Trade Limited and its CEO, Marcus Wade. However, CBN has denied this, stating that the information is misleading and not affiliated with the bank.
The alleged investigation was said to be related to a two-year legal dispute involving false accusations of fraud made by Ecobank and ETISRC against Wilben Trade Limited and its CEO. Ecobank had filed criminal charges against Wilben and its CEO in 2022 over a loss suffered in 2014/15. However, it was claimed that Ecobank’s losses resulted from a transaction with another customer, and that Wilben was only an intermediary in the transaction.
CBN’s denial comes after a report in March 2023 that Ecobank had petitioned the Department of Public Prosecutions over $42,485,900 fraud allegations against Prem Garg, Devashish Garg, Marcus Wade, and Wilben Trade Limited.
