LAGOS - Fidelity Bankhas defended the receipt of the cash of $115 million from four companies and former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke, in the heat of the 2015 elections, describing it as normal banking transaction that was promptly reported to appropriate quarters.
The transaction which took place in 2015, led to the arrest of the bank's managing director and head of operations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which is investigating allegation of graft against the former Petroleum minister and others, who served in the last administration.
The two bank officials are currently being quizzed by the operatives of the commission in Abuja on the suspicion that the cash worth about N24 billion might have been used to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to compromise the 2015 polls.
Many INEC officials, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers, at the time of the election, Gesila Khan, have been detained and questioned by the EFCC.
But Fidelity Bank said, yesterday, that it was cooperating with the EFCC in its investigation since it was convinced that the transaction it had with the former minister was normal banking operation.
The bank said it a statement by its Head of Corporate Communication, Mr. Ejike Ndiulo, that the said transaction was also reported to relevant authorities as required by banking regulations.
Ndiulo said: "Our attention has been drawn to reports in the media on investigations into transactions undertaken by the bank in the normal course of business in 2015.
"The transactions are now the subject matter of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
"We can confirm that the transactions were duly reported as required by the regulators and the bank is cooperating fully with the authorities on the investigation.”
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