Tensions Escalate Between Femi Otedola and Zenith Bank Over Alleged Multibillion Naira Fraud

The conflict between billionaire businessman Femi Otedola and Jim Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, has intensified over an alleged multibillion naira fraud, according to The Cable.

Otedola has accused Zenith Bank of unlawfully using his company, Seaforce Shipping Limited’s account for trading in 2011 without his knowledge or consent.

These allegations are currently being investigated by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) of the police, with efforts underway to resolve the issues amicably.

The Cable has reached out to Ovia and Zenith Bank for comments.

Otedola claims that despite Seaforce Shipping’s account not being operational since 2010, it was used for unauthorized trading unbeknownst to him. He maintains that Seaforce never applied for nor received a loan from Zenith Bank, yet billions of naira were traded through the account.

When asked to provide documentation to support these loans, Zenith Bank reportedly failed to produce any.

Otedola only recently uncovered these suspicious activities, 13 years after the transactions, through a whistle-blower within Zenith Bank. When he confronted the bank’s officials, they apologized.

Otedola presented a letter dated March 19, 2018, from Zenith Bank to Seaforce’s auditors, Shofolawe-Bakare & Co, indicating a debt of only ₦2,278,420 on the account, as opposed to the ₦5 billion recorded in the bank statement seen by The Cable. Interestingly, on the same day the letter was written, the bank statement showed a debt of ₦2.9 billion, differing from the ₦2 million stated in the letter signed by Taofik Bashir (internal audit control) and Edwin Kind Olie (group head, telecom).

Transactions totaling over ₦16 billion were recorded against Seaforce’s account from 2011 to 2024. Otedola has questioned who made the payments to reduce the alleged debt from ₦16,927,628,581.84 to ₦11,010,924,522.71, as he was unaware of these dealings.

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CREDIT: @thecableng