The recent visit of officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Dangote Group headquarters in Lagos has been clarified by Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the group. The visit was related to the details of foreign exchange allocated to the company by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 2014 to the present.
In a statement, Dangote explained that they received a letter requesting this information and responded to the EFCC, seeking clarification on the specific subsidiaries or companies within the group that they required information on.
They also requested additional time to compile the extensive documentation spanning ten years. However, the EFCC did not provide the clarification sought and did not honor their request for an extension. Despite this, Dangote assured the EFCC of their commitment to providing the information and pledged to share the documents in batches as they complete the compilation.
On January 4, 2024, the first batch of documents was delivered to the EFCC, but the officers insisted on visiting their offices to collect the same set of documents directly.
During the time our representatives were still at the EFCC’s office to deliver the necessary documents, a team of their officers decided to visit our offices and request the same documents in a manner that seemed intended to cause us unnecessary embarrassment. It is important to note that these officials did not take any documents or files from our Head office during their visit, as those were already in their possession.
We want to emphasize that, as far as we know, no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against any company within our Group. Currently, we are solely responding to a request for information to assist the EFCC with their ongoing investigation.
Despite this situation, we want to assure everyone that we are a law-abiding and ethical corporate citizen, and we are fully committed to providing the EFCC with all the necessary information and cooperation. We have already delivered the initial set of documents and are actively working to compile and submit the remaining documents in a timely manner to support their investigation.
Our Group plays a significant role in the national GDP, being the largest employer in the private sector, one of the largest groups listed on the Nigerian Exchange, and one of the highest taxpayers in the country. We firmly believe in Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law and its efforts to create an environment that encourages investment and value creation for both local and foreign investors.
Therefore, we kindly request the understanding and patience of our stakeholders. We will keep everyone informed of any further developments that may arise.
