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Business News of Saturday, 11 January 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Access Bank debunks report of Group Managing Director's arrest

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Access Bank Plc has debunked any report regarding the arrest of its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

In a notification released by the lender to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the lender said the issue relates to credit facilities that were availed Slok Nigeria Limited by the defunct Diamond Bank Plc and which were secured by Slok's assets charged to Diamond Bank.

The Bank also added that differing interests of the antigraft commission and the Bank on the assets of Slok arising from the court's recent judgement on Slok led to Wigwe's interrogation as opposed to arrest, widely propagated online.

Part of the statement read thus: "We wish to state that the issue essentially relates to the credit facilities that were availed Slok Nigeria Limited ("Slok") by the defunct Diamond Bank Plc ("Diamond") and which were secured by Slok's assets charged to Diamond. Access Bank had inherited the Slok credit following the recent merger of Diamond with Access Bank.

"Given the differing interests of the Commission and the Bank on the assets of Slok deriving from the court's recent judgement on Slok, the Commission had invited for interrogation officials of Access Bank who were handling the Bank's recovery efforts on Slok credit including its Group Managing Director."

The bank assured its customers and the investing public of a smooth and swift resolution to the issues at hand. It also promised to operate within the confines of the law.

"Following fruitful engagement between the Bank and the Commission, we are of the opinion that the issues relating to Slok investigation have been resolved.

"As an institution built on best practice, we wish to assure our esteemed stakeholders that the Bank will continue to conduct its business in line with extant laws and regulations, the statement read."