Alleged Impropriety: Heritage Bank Faces Imminent Collapse

The fortunes of a financial institution, the Heritage Bank must have started dwindling and nose-diving due to mistrust and loss of confidence in the management by the stakeholders and depositors in the handling of the institution’s affairs.

It is revealed that, against that background, panic withdrawals have hit the bank fuelling speculations that the bank is moving down towards imminent oblivion as natural death is staring the bank directly in the face.

Findings revealed that, even the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), has severally swooped on the staff of the bank apparently in respect of their failure to remit the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), the fund to the appropriate quarter.

With the development, observers, some of whom are either stakeholders, depositors and

other customers have resorted to moving their money from the collapsing financial institution to other ones that are believed to be on secured ground for fear of losing their personal heritage to the Heritage Bank.

A stakeholder, who pledged anonymity confided in our reporter that, “the handwriting on the wall of the bank has suggested imminent natural death,” adding that, “no wise man having anything to do with the bank will remain there and that is while I have moved my money to where my mouth is outside the Heritage Bank.”

Another depositor, who also doesn’t want his name in the media said, what is alarming in the case of the bank is that, the efforts of the EFCC at sanitising the institution by arresting the erring staff, who are seen as being perpetrators of the evil deeds in the bank are being shielded by some vested interests within the bank, who go about securing bail for the suspected errant culprits through the back door.

Right now, investigations have revealed that, the centre has refused to hold in the bank as things are already falling apart pitching the management, stakeholders, depositors and the staff in a war of mistrust that has started having its toll on the bank thereby pushing it into an avoidable crash due to the widening gap.

A staff of the bank, who begged for anonymity also disclosed that, the reason for the apprehension on the part of the stakeholders is not farfetched, explaining that, “panic enveloped the halls of Heritage Bank at the heel of a clampdown on the bank by the EFCC over alleged shady dealings by Mike Danneil, the Principal Officer of the bank’s FINCON arm.”

According to him, it was rumoured that the EFCC swooped on the bank after it discovered that Mike had failed to remit monies belonging to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) into the federation account, suspecting that, the development has reportedly led to a bad debt situation and has driven the bank towards bankruptcy given its persistent failure to meet up with the financial obligations.

Checks also confirmed that, that is not the first time that Heritage Bank would be caught in the heat of a financial storm and alleged ethical impropriety as it is on record that, its former Managing Director (MD), Ifie Sekibo, got locked up years back alongside Kolapo Daisi and other staff, over alleged issues of financial impropriety. But they were reportedly let loose after receiving help from a serving member of House of Representatives, Hon Kabiru Tukura representing a Sokoto Constituency, who was appointed, Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary.

He was believed to have been sponsored to the Federal Legislative House by the bank MD.

Now, that Heritage Bank is in the eye of the storm again, it is being rumoured in some quarters that, the Federal Lawmaker has been contacted again to use his influence and contacts in the House of Representatives to ensure that Mike’s neck is saved from the hangman’s noose. Research has also revealed that, through that, the staff on EFCC’s radar, Mike, has been granted bail.

Consequently, upon that, the bank’s major shareholders and depositors are believed to have started moving their money out of the bank’s coffers in a panic move to avoid losing their fortunes in the event of the bank’s eventual collapse.