Commercial banks on Friday began compilation of customers’ accounts without Bank Verification Numbers BVN).
The lists, according to bank executives, are being prepared for onward transfer to the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to reports, barring any last minute change of the course of the ongoing matter, the list might be published in newspapers in line with a recent court ruling.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had on October 17, ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria and the 19 commercial banks in the country, to disclose all accounts in their custody and the balances in such accounts.
The court ordered the banks to disclose the details of all such accounts, their owners and their proceeds in their affidavit of compliance deposed to by their Chief Compliance Officers.
It also made an interim order directing the banks to freeze all the said accounts by stopping “all outward payments, operations or transactions,” pending the hearing of the substantive application seeking the forfeiture of the balances in the accounts to the Federal Government.
The banks were also directed to disclose “any investments made with funds from these accounts without BVN in any products.”
The court also directed the CBN and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC “to validate the information contained in the affidavit of compliance/disclosure filed by the respective 19 banks” within seven days from the date of service of the orders on them.
Named as defendants are Access Bank PLC, Citibank Nigeria, Diamond Bank PLC, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank of Nigeria PLC, First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank PLC, Guaranty Trust Bank PLC and Heritage Bank PLC.
Other banks are Keystone Bank, Skye Bank PLC, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, United Bank for Africa PLC, Unity Bank PLC, Wema Bank PLC, Zenith Bank PLC and the CBN.
The court will decide on whether customers will forfeit their deposits on November 16.
