MONEY laundering suspicions against the financier of the New Generation Consortium, which was set to acquire a majority stake in Nigeria Telecommunications (Nitel) Plc, is the cause of the delay in the Nitel sale, the director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said at the weekend.
The consortium was supposed to pay US$750 million representing 30% of the bid for Nitel but the deadline expired on Thursday without any payment. Government however at the weekend granted the preferred bidders a 20-day extension to enable them conclude arrangements for the ltransfer of the funds.
BPE director general Bolanle Onagoruwa said that while the transaction was still on, a letter was written by the Ambassador of United Arab Emirate alleging that the financier of the New Generation Consortium was involved in money laundering. She said that it was difficult for them to transfer their funds because of fears of terrorism.
Onagoruwa further explained that the funds could not be transferred until “securities all over the world are satisfied that the funds are going to be used for the purpose, so this is the challenge that they have right now and they asked for time. We only hope and pray that when they overcome this challenge, the funds will come through and then we can start a new era”.
The Federal Government granted New Generation Telecommunications Consortium, the preferred bidder in the privatisation of Nitel and its mobile arm, M-tel, 20 working days extension for the payment of the US$750 million which is the 30 % bid security for the purchase of the enterprise.
The consortium had in a letter received by the BPE on Thursday been informed of the consortium’s difficulty in concluding the due diligence and compliance processes associated with the transfer of such huge funds.
“We are requesting for a 20 working day extension to clarify all compliance and due diligence issues and also to remit the funds into BPE’s account,” the Consortium wrote. – I
