The Department of State Services (DSS) has launched a comprehensive investigation into a substantial economic fraud case, implicating Olam Nigeria Limited, Olam International, and nine associated subsidiaries, amounting to over $50 billion.
This investigation centres on a series of round-trip foreign exchange transactions that have been ongoing since 2015. Olam, through its Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), purportedly registered approximately $34 billion as capital importation with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at official exchange rates.
However, instead of utilising these funds for investments in the Nigerian economy, the company is alleged to have engaged in round-tripping of foreign exchange, selling it to various business entities, particularly oil and gas marketers, and major industrial players like Indorama and Fouani, at parallel market rates.
During the period in question, Olam reportedly directed the forex buyers to deposit the equivalent amount in naira into the accounts of one or more of its SPVs. Notably, some of these companies had fictitious Nigerian directors, with full control of the accounts resting in the hands of Indian expatriates, some of whom were based in Europe and Asia.
As part of the DSS’s probe into the foreign exchange fraud and anchor-borrower scheme activities conducted under the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, security agencies have discovered a network of shell companies associated with Olam. These investigations have exposed traces of transfers into accounts controlled by Aminu Yaro, one of the individuals linked to the embattled CBN governor. Mr. Yaro, who was previously under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been in DSS detention since July 12.
The DSS has summoned several expatriates for questioning, including Ashish Pande, the Managing Director/CEO of Olam Nigeria Limited, as well as key officers of the company, such as Prakash Kanth, Sudhir Goenka, Niraj Shah, Chandrasekran Balaji, and Venkataramani Srivathshan.
The Chief Financial Officer of Crown Flour Mill Limited, Rajeesh Damodaram Valagulam, was also invited for questioning. Crown Flour Mill Limited is recognised as one of Olam’s major subsidiaries in Nigeria.
Insiders suggest that Olam Nigeria Limited and its subsidiaries played a significant role as foreign exchange speculators, contributing to the depreciation of the Nigerian currency, the naira.
